2011: The Venn Diagram

This was meant to be a year-in-review type post,

but 2011 is, and forever shall be, The-Year-We-Were-Married.

It should be disclaimed that we are three days shy of the Kardashian Mark,

and I therefore have little jurisdiction on the subject,

but in my quest for Knowledge & Understanding the question was posed to many married couples,

What is the secret to your success?

and I find myself compelled to dispel the most common answer: Never go to bed angry.

I flipped this one around & My Old Lady wholeheartedly agreed: Never have a fight when tired.

I also get queasy at the notion of 'two people becoming one'

A better analogy is that of two circles becoming a Venn Diagram. Although our circles are now joined, there are parts of My Old Lady's circle that have nothing to do with me and never will. I must revere that part of the circle with the same respect as the portion we now share.

Seems pretty basic, right?

A final idea, one I've received from many angles, is the "watch out Buddy things are good Now, but they are going to Change..." and their voices trail off into the whimper that comes only from years of harsh compromise...

but again, this sentiment seems painfully obvious.

We have both acknowledged that our lives will change, which is exactly why we have faith in each other as co-pilots for the rest the journey.

Landladies Against Illiteracy: Volume 2

The second batch of books from our good friend and ex-landlady were amazing.

My old lady read James Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room" and Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" but that was a while back and I can't quite recall exactly what she thought of them.

I read David Sedaris' "Barrel Fever" and instantly became a fan of his, backdated to 1994. Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" contains some of the most scary & horrible passages I've ever read. It was awesome.

Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" was thought provoking, but I feel an urge to disclaim it as "overly sci-fi", especially for an underly sci-fi guy such as myself.

I couldn't stomach Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", I literally gave up on the 3rd paragraph. However, I've witnessed the television miniseries starring Ted Danson, and have faith that no stones were left unturned in that interpretation.

I very much enjoyed Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" and am quite sure in my opinion that (Spoiler Alert) Santiago did NOT bang Angela.

I am currently reading Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartha" and upon completion will gather these books and return them.

Recipe: Brocs Obama

There are few foods in this beautiful world more wretched than plain, boiled broccoli.

My solution is to cut a fresh head down into small florets,
mix them around in a capful of vegetable oil,
add a chopped up clove of garlic,
garnish with salt & pepper whatever else you dig

and throw in the oven for a while.
twenty minutes or so, somewhere around 350 degrees.

I know the art of preparing food involves more science than I give it credit for, but this dish is really hard to mess up, which is why I lean on it often, generally alongside grilled meats.

Finally, I might cover her with a blend of mozzarella & parmesan towards the last 5 minutes in the oven, if I'm feeling cheesy...

What is the Meaning of all this noise, anyways?

Epic Hello, the sophomore release from Bandit Kings, was recently reviewed by The Noise, a music magazine that has been taking the pulse of Boston for decades. T-Max, the founder, editor, and mastermind of The Noise reviewed it himself, which made us blush. He said, of my contribution to the album,

“Find” is a melodic standout that I swore was titled “On a Friday.”

T, good sir, I honestly believe you can & should title the song as you best see fit. I personally love coming up with my own names for things. It's a very Human trait. I truly appreciate your listening, thinking and writing about the song.

My friend Steve thought the very same song was about the Bayou, and is translating the lyrics to French, which is very flattering, in a strange way.

*****

The party favors at our wedding were CDs of original music. Our young niece & nephew learned one of our songs and performed it with soulful precision, which caused so much joy to flood into my heart & soul that my chest literally ached. Their folks asked me what the song was about.

but the best story about that particular song isn't what the song is about...

The interesting point is that I wrote the chords, first verse & chorus, didn't "feel" it, eventually burying it in a folder, in a drawer. My sweet Old Lady stumbled across the lead sheet, composed lyrics for a second & third verse, didn't "feel" them, and buried it back into the same folder, in the same drawer. Months later I stumbled across what I expected to be an incomplete song but was actually a very complete and lovely Song.

So there are already Three different moments involved in the creation of the song. The moment we recorded the demo version was also equally important, as was the wedding day where they received and listened to the CD.

And all five of those moments are independent of when young Samantha decided to transcribe the song and teach it to her family.

I like the idea that 10 people can look at a painting or sculpture, some physical artwork, and take away 10 different meanings, 10 different reasons or stories of what that art is about, or why it even exists. I want my music to be the same. It doesn't matter what I was thinking when I wrote the song, more important is the feelings, thoughts, stories it creates in your head at the moment you listen to it.

At least that's what I told them, to deflect the fact that song is about substance abuse. Or was when I wrote it. I'm now enjoying the idea that the meaning has become bigger than that, and will not likely ever mean that again.

When we perform this song now, I don't think of a rainy festival & stinky hippies, I think about sweet children, singing at the piano.