tree * 3

i put together these 3 shots of one of my favorite trees and i rather like how it turned out...

my cat's been acting a little weird...

...can't quite put my finger on it...

trees - findley state park

red flowers - oberlin

one of my favorite trees - oberlin

delurk sunday

please leave a comment and validate my existence

...

my furry little friend

rain, rain, rain - most all week

here comes the sun....


heavy rotation: mimi fox - perpetually hip (which, btw, is not named after me - near as i know)...

coolest thing ever...

tetris using a building

for Mahākāśyapa

summer...

about 1/2 way thru my 2 week (thought it was 3) break between spring and summer semesters - teaching 2 classes - 2 days a week - not a bad schedule - maybe even better than nothing at all...

in the mean time - i am trying to balance three urges:
a. to do absolutely nothing - or as little as possible - other maybe than tv watching, videogame playing, internet surfing
b. to catch up on all i let slide during the hectic semester
c. to have some real fun and adventures

being one who believes in balance in most all things - i'll try for a little of each...

any suggestions?

i'm glad taylor hicks won american idol - if for no other reason, that he didn't really look or sound like i would imagine an american idol to...he seemed like he was enjoying himself - and was overall very entertaining

we spent the day among the flora and fauna

desert island discs....

in a recent comment, girl with moxie suggested make a desert island disc post...

i'm not sure of the precise rules here - so here's what i'll do - pick the 5 records that i would pick, were i only allowed to have 5 records...

i know as soon as i post, i'll think of one i missed, but actually, it was pretty easy... i am deliberately picking a cross-section of my tastes... so this might not be my 5 favorite records - but on the other hand, they probably are...

anyhow - here it goes...i no order - except, probably for the first - which is number one...at least today...

The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall
Perfect - no words can describe this recent discovery of a great concert documenting the brief collaboration of two of the greatest jazz legends - so i won't try

Introducing Ruben Gonzalez
The irony of the title is that gonzalez was in his late 70's when this was recorded. he was retired for many years until introduced to US fans by ry cooder - pure joy...

Steely Dan - Aja
probably have listened to this record more than any i own

The Beatles - Abbey Road
nice balance between whimsy and more serious elements...
contains prolly george harrison's two best songs - including a favorite of mine - here comes the sun - one which i deeply identify with

Wayne Shorter - Footprints Live
shorter is a brilliant musician - few artists stay as creative and progressive for as long.... in his 70's, shorter is till pushing the music forwarded - playing and writing like no one else - kind of this era's monk - the fact that i saw this band play a similar set shortly after this record was released probably clinches it a spot... one of the best concerts i've seen...

what about you?

w00t...

i am done for the semester.

i have the same feeling i always have after semesters, even when i was a student - that nagging feeling that there is something i need to do - when in fact, there isn't...

i suspect i'll get over that soom enough...

go cavs

randomness...

i got my daughter to ask the cashier at the kmart garden center if they had any carnivorous plants. it was priceless...

i'm guessing this june 6th is going to be big for heavy metal concerts...

heavy rotation: new ben harper, any jack johnson, new neil young, dave douglas, dave holland, richard thompson's grizzly man soundtrack and jewel's new one *gasp* - i know, there gors my credibility - what can i say - i like her music - i know - her lyrics are occasionally pretentious - but what the heck - good pop-folk-rock, just like 70's legends, the eagles - a band, i imagine, is probably on the least cool bands of all time list by hipsters these days...

had a two and a half hour dental appt where they put in a bridge - it's a little scary seeing sears-hardware like caulking guns lined up, knowing they are destined for my mouth...i'm awaiting a crown, it feels like i have a lump of bondo in my mouth - which, i probably do - but hey, my dentist does a great job - i am not criticizing him - it's just weird having something where a tooth was missing for so long... i even told him he must be good, cause i don't even get nervous visiting him...


on the home stretch for the semester

happy mothers day

to all you mothers out there...

what the word needs now is another...

new web app!

my latest project - started off as a goofy idea i dreamed up - but has become real...

it is a new web app that allows people to keep track of their calendar - to do list... (if you get an error access it, try again later - i just set it up this weekend and it takes time for the dns servers to propagate)

anyone interested in trying it out, send me an email...

it is, at this point, very, very basic and simple - and really hasn't been tested too thoroughly - i would appreciate any beta testers... though i assume no liability for anything that goes wrong - i plan on adding features - but the aim is to keep it simple

in addition, send me an email... if you are a ruby on rails developer and want to get involved in the maintenance of this app...

mon vie - part deux

a note to any of my cats who may be reading this (esp. two - you know who you are) the baby bird depicted in the above photos is not in the tree in our yard. nope. it's somewhere else. i forget where. it is definitely not in the tree in our yard. especially not the one just outside our garage.

anyhow. i came home singing bohemian rhapsody (all the parts - of course) and one of our fish nearly jumped out of the tank - suicide attempt - or just hungry. so i had to listen to some queen. they were my favorite in high school and although i don't listen to them much anymore - they are good for a nostalgia blast - i still like them - it is a bit sad - esp. recalling the last few videos when he was dying

getting real heavy rotation here is neil young's LIVING WITH WAR

mon vie...

inspirational words of the day

Then I chanted for a wisdom and
Hoped to find a key
Then I saw that all my troubles
Start and end with me.

from lyrics by musician extrodinaire, robin eubanks

herons

oh yeah, i remember, fatwa lifted...

i lifted my fatwa against target.

the event was commemorated by purchasing several snazzy shirts...

music for a root canal...

the past month or so, i've been in the most excruciating pain of my life - 1/2 my jaw/side of my face/head... after being chicken for a few weeks, i went to the dentist - sure enough, i needed a root canal - i had a tooth that has been dodgy for a while - very deep filling...

my biggest dilemma was what music to play. had to be intense/complex enough to block out the sound of dental tools, banter between dr and assistant, and perhaps, even my own screams - yet still, had to be mellow - calming. of course, had to be music i love - a current favorite - i mean, i can handle my mouth forced open and two relative strangers invading it with half the sears hardware store - but to do that and listen to bad - or even worse - mediocre music - couldn't take it...

i settled on dave douglas, a jazz musician rooted in the tradition, yet not stuck in it - progressive... he is also a rare example of a jazz musician that uses the technology - his diy record label, greenleaf, has a blog and his band even has a myspace page - and i'm even on their friend list...

i was thinking of posting a comment there saying how i chose them to listen to during my root canal...but i wasn't sure if the artist would view it as a compliment - which it truly is - heck, any musician that can help me get thru the tough parts of my life is performing a valuable service...

anyhow, i've felt god the past week - prior to today's root canal - antibiotics and pain killers doing the trick...

but now - the novacaine is wearing off and i will be on the floor sobbing in the fetal position shortly - ouchy....

in non-dental news, two of my photos tok 1st and 3rd in the erie shore photo contest - which is a good thing..

neil young's new record rocks....

i'll be at the elyria methodist village selling photos saturday as part of their art fair...

thought there was something else, but i forget....