Salute Her When Her Birthday Comes

24. This look she gives me when I've said something stupid or if she wants something from me. I wish everyone could see it. I hate to tell you this, but you are enabling me to say stupid things.

23. She is organized. I am not.

22. She is genuinely concerned about people, even people she doesn't know.

21. She is very excited to be an aunt to my nieces & nephews.

20. She likes to take care of all of the little things & gets excited about it. For some reason, she likes to clean, organize & check things off of her list. In doing so, she has my best interest in mind.

19. She wants to see the world, & I think she'll inspire me to go with her.

18. She can just sit without doing anything & be perfectly content.

17. She giggles with glee every time she sees a puppy.

16. She likes all of my friends & treats them as if she's known them as long as I have.

15. She is very close with her family & she is always excited to see mine.

14. She loves to help people.

13. Her laugh is very infectious, & she can break out in laughter at any time.

12. She's a homebody, just like me.

11. She sings along to the radio in the car & doesn't mind if you hear it.

10. She has a great smile & you can't help but smile if you see her smile.

9. She cries watching cheesy movies & television shows & doesn't mind if you see her crying.

8. She doesn't get too mad at me when I hog the radio in the car.

7. She drags me to the beach, even when I pretend I don't really like going to the beach.

6. She is passionate about many things, including her faith.

5. She inspires me to be a better man.

4. She loves people for who they are, not for who she wants them to be.

3. She doesn't have to say she's faithful, yet she's true like ice, like fire. (Okay, I stole that one from somewhere but it fits).

2. She loves me & wants to marry me & puts up with me.

1. She's got that certain something that you can never put into words but you recognize as soon as you are around her & it instantly makes you feel good.

Happy Birthday, Christie, I love you.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

I'll Keep it With Mine-Nico

No Trust-The Black Keys

Romulus-Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan

Ain't Talkin'-Bob Dylan, Modern Times

Spirit on the Water-Bob Dylan, Modern Times

Happy Saturday, friends...

andrew

Sweetness Follows

It was a bit of a sad day at work today. My full time employee found out that her mother was dying last night so she drove to be with her today. This morning, our sales rep's father had surgery to remove a tumor from his stomach & things have gotten worse since the surgery. These things make the usual daily activities seem incredibly trivial.

Does prayer sway God's decision or is it merely a way for Him to help us cope with the outcomes?

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

I Will Be Grateful for This Day, I Will Be Grateful For Each Day to Come-Bright Eyes

Every Grain of Sand-Bob Dylan

Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away-Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Sodom, South Georgia-Iron & Wine

Rock of Ages-Bob Dylan



Enjoy every sandwich, friends...

andrew

Take What You Have Gathered From Coincidence

Happy Wednesday, friends. Today I talked to one single father who was telling me about his nineteen year old son who is in all kinds of trouble that he won't tell him about. The two got in a fight & the son moved out of the father's house. The father is both concerned for his son & pissed off at him for ruining his life (& costing the father alot of money).

In a separate conversation (without the prior conversation coming up), an eighteen year old kid told me how he sits at his father's grave every September 4 @ 4:11 am (the anniversary of his father's death four years ago) & plays guitar.

I don't know what lesson I should gain from all this other than to be grateful for my parents & the relationship we have. I'm truly blessed. I kept that to myself when talking to the other gentlemen.

Don't ask me how these things come up at work, they just do.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

The Trapeze Swinger-Iron & Wine

Hear You Me-Jimmy Eat World

No Trust-The Black Keys

I Will Be Grateful for This Day, I Will Be Grateful for Each Day to Come-Bright Eyes

Two Daughters & a Wife, Two Daughters & a Beautiful Wife-The Drive By Truckers, Brighter than Creations Dark

Happy Wednesday, friends

andrew

I'll know my song well before I start singing...

Happy Tuesday, friends.

I've got all sorts of thoughts swirling through my head that may or may not be blogworthy. I'm sure none of them are particularly interesting, but that's why we do this blog nonsense, right?

I'm listening to Barack Obama's speech from earlier in the day. He seems to be doing a good job of squelching the fears about his background & ideologies while at the same time remaining proud of his background. I have to admit that I haven't listened to any of the sermons of his pastor other than the few controversial clips that have been played over & over again. I'm quite positive that most people haven't.

My only concern would be as a Christian why would you attend a church that seeks to provide political views that either overshadow or distract from the message of the gospel? Then again, preachers are sinners, too, & I'm sure there's plenty of things I've said that might have left people with a bad taste in their mouths.

Obama could have left this sticky subject be, hoping that his campaign could overcome this large political setback. He didn't though, he jumps right into it & does his best not to defend his role in it or justify it but to explain it. I think he does a pretty good job of seeing both sides, too. He doesn't sweep the racism & radical thinking that exist in his background under the rug. In this speech he puts some racial issues right out there on the table. He's not talking about white hoods or black panthers, he's talking about the racial issues that often don't make the headlines.

Regardless of your politics or what you think of Barack Obama, I would strongly urge you to listen to this speech.



In other news, two of my favorite magazines are closing their doors (or pages). Harp & No Depression were two magazines that championed music that can't always be found on the radio or on MTV. No Depression's focus was on Americana-type (Bluegrass, Folk, Blues, Country) music & the artists who make it great. Many of these artists are either far out of the radar or have long since been forgotten. Harp focused more on new music from any genre. Both magazines lifted up independent record labels & were eager to get you to hear people you'd never heard before. The fact that these magazines are going under is indicative a music business that is struggling without a viable product. The internet has made it so that music is not so much something that can be bought or sold but rather something that can be found for free if you look in the right places. There's alot of great music out there for the taking, but if it continues like this, musicians will find it increasingly harder to make a living & they'll probably run paint stores or something.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Lessons from What's Poor-Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Master & Everyone

I pulled this little gem out for the first time in a long time on Sunday. It just may be Will Oldham's finest work. He doesn't concentrate on being weird (as he's pretty good at being) but just on making fine little songs.

Lessons From What's Poor

When i go
Follow my brother
He's got the blood of father and mother
And he has a spirit that's even mightier

And if i hunger,
See that i do
Bring me water,
Bring me food
And fill me up with things that are true,
And very good

And if you want to,
Touch my wrist
With the hands
That i have kissed
And hold my cuffs
So strong in your fist

See now, watch
How it is i am
Watch what i do,
And how i stand
And stand down boys
For we are grand
Right now we are

I take my lessons
From what's poor
That's what God
Has put me for
Wealth is death,
Of that i'm sure
Farewell

Hard Life-Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Master & Everyone

Tower of Song-Leonard Cohen

A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall-Bob Dylan, Brixton 2003

Anthem-Leonard Cohen

there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in...



Ring the bells, friends!

andrew

I see people who are supposed to know better standing around like furniture...

Good evening, friends. The time change with the extended daylight has guilted me into actually doing something when I get home from work. Usually, I'm quite content to come home sometime between 5 & 7, putts around on the computer, eat dinner & go to bed, but the last few nights I feel as though I should be doing some sort of physical activity. Last night, I went for a bike ride, tonight I worked out a little bit. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow. My reflection in the mirror without a shirt on gives me the willies, & I'll be on the beach almost every day in Hawaii on our honeymoon. I don't think I have enough time to fix this little spare tire, but I'll give it a shot.

Congrats, Christie. You will do a fine job at your internship, I'm sure.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

In the Night-Basia Bulat

The Human Thing-the Be Good Tanyas

The Haitian Fight Song-Charles Mingus, the Clown

The Needle Has Landed-Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Two Daughters & a Beautiful Wife-the Drive By Truckers, Brighter than Creation's Dark

Happy favorite short night, friends...

andrew

Covenant woman, got a contract with the Lord...

Happy Tuesday, friends. The way my brain bounces around from subject to subject astounds me sometimes. I watched a clip on the internet about Hunter S. Thompson, then I remembered the movies I rented are overdue, so I hopped in the car, turned on Desolation Row & drove to the video store.

On the way, I got to thinking about how many of the women in my life are either teachers, full time mothers or social workers. All of them are in the business of helping people. It amazes me how they went to college, some of them for eight years or more to help people in ways that most of us take for granted (I include myself in that bunch) & get paid very little for it. It's interesting that the professions that don't generate money get paid accordingly & the professions that generate the most money get the most money. It's almost as if our society takes for granted the fact that people don't take on these careers for money, but rather to help people.

There's a fella I work with who recently adopted a little girl from Ethiopia. He had to spend two weeks there when he picked her up. He's made the comment on several occasions that it's pretty difficult to take selling paint seriously considering how poor people are in that country. It's both comforting & also disappointing to know that no ones life will be greatly ruined or touched by what they buy from me. Don't get me wrong, I love my job & I think you can help people in many different ways regardless of your profession, it just makes me think how much more I could do. Cheers to you, ladies.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Every Grain of Sand-Bob Dylan, St Louis, 2004



I Got You (at the end of the century)-Wilco, Being There

Keep Me in Your Heart for Awhile-Warren Zevon, The Wind



If this song doesn't give you the goosebumps, I'd be surprised, the last song Zevon ever recorded before dying of cancer. I remember staying up late to watch Warren on David Letterman when he learned he was dying & it was one of the most moving moments on live television I've ever seen. "you're reminded to enjoy every sandwich"

Mutineer-Warren Zevon, David Letterman Show



Holland-Sufjan Stevens, Greetings from Michigan

Enjoy every sandwich, friends...

andrew

They're waiting for spring to come, smoking down the tracks...

It seemed to me to be a nice day today, & I suppose it was. The sun was shining. I decided to go for a walk, I haven't done that in a while so I went out without a hat or gloves. I made it about 400 yards before I realized how cold it was.

I, for one, am excited about the primaries tonight. I think my candidate will pull away from the pack tonight. It seems that, for now, politics has replaced sports on my interest landscape. I sat down to watch a little tv on Sunday while Christie was at her bridal shower only to find out that Ben Wallace now plays for the Cavaliers. Things haven't gone too well for him since he left the Pistons, I hope the money was worth it.

Today's blog has no point, as usual. Maybe Sylvia can make sense of it all.



Words

Axes after whose stroke the wood rings,
And the echoes!
Echoes travelling
Off from the centre like horses.

The sap
Wells like tears, like the
Water striving
To re-establish its mirror
Over the rock

That drops and turns,
A white skull,
Eaten by weedy greens.
Years later I
Encounter them on the road______

Words dry and riderless,
The indefatigable hoof-taps.
While
From the bottom of the pool, fixed stars
Govern a life.

Sylvia Plath

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

Ally, Walk With Me-The Raveonettes

This should be on a soundtrack to a gangster movie. I'd watch it only to see two gangsters walking down the streets of Chicago to the distorted guitar found in this song. Wonderful.

Maiden Voyage-Herbie Hancock, Maiden Voyage

Thanks, Dan.

Nettie Moore-Bob Dylan, Stockholm, 2007

My Blue Eyed Jane-Jimmy Rodgers

This Side of the Blue-Joanna Newsom, The Milk Eyed Mendor

I wonder if Joanna Newsom reads Sylvia Plath?

Happy Tuesday, friends...

andrew