Balance

The year is 2013

not 1695

which is unfortunate

because if it was 1695

I could really go hard on my young music students

I doubt Johann Sebastian Bach played soccer or did karate as a young piano prodigy

it's easy to appreciate the well-rounded-ness of my students today

(the music geeks at Berklee that didn't appreciate sports, or Anything-But-Music always irked me)

Teaching for me in 2013 is a Balance

if it is too Easy there is no Growth and they are merely Entertained, which is not sustainable

if it is too Hard they quickly become Frustrated, and move onto one of the million Other Things

teaching for me is pushing to the very edge of Fun

Supremecy2: Love and Money

Day 2 of Supreme Court marriage battles

if I have the story straight (pun intended)

this lady Ethel was with her partner for decades

worth emphasizing: DECADES

and when her partner died Ethel got whacked with Estate Taxes over 400k

(the sticking point is this figure is Way higher than a surviving heterowidow would have to pay)

Estate Taxes are no joke and 400k is Real Money.

the kind of Real Money that breeds lies & broken bones and things far worse,

like court cases and social revolutions.

like getting The Supremes off the golf course and into their robes for a while.

this isn't about Love. this is about Money. who was I trying to fool?

(myself)

Supremecy

The Supreme Court is hearing a case regarding California's ban on same sex marriage today

and I can't help but think there must be Something more important to deal with

than who can marry who.

worth noting that Heterosexuals have historically been pretty bad at marriage.

also worth noting that Dictionary.com recognizes gay marriage.

the "catch" is that the people of California voted against gay marriage

(which doesn't seem right.)

insert money and power and lobbyists

and "The Side With The Most Money Wins"

and it starts to make more sense

so hopefully The Supremes will say the right thing today:

"Yeah...sure. Whatever."

How Does Anthony of Padua Keep Finding My Things?

I had to search to determine which St. Anthony I was looking for

for there are many. 

Our man is Anthony of Padua

his story is too good to paraphrase and worth reading 

the idea of praying to St. Anthony to help find your missing shit

probably came from Mom & Dad

(always seemed sort of fake to me

maybe Wrong is a better word than fake? maybe not.)  

(I don't have to explain why praying to a Saint to help you find your missing shit seems selfish and not really the point of prayer) 

even the lowly Wikipedia refuses to mention the missing-shit-prayer

my brother recently texted a short crass poemy version, 

"Tony, Tony rally round, 

  something lost

  that must be found"

minimal internet research this morning provided a website where someone posted the same poem, testimonial style with small variations, from Chicago, Jamaica, as far as Poland. 

for me the praying to St. Anthony was about not freaking out, 

about taking a quiet moment to cool down,

admit that You lost something 

reflect on why it is important to you

admit that you need help finding it 

and that in that quiet moment you generally remember where your missing shit is.  

CATM

The Story, as I know it:

Ross' ex-girlfriend had the idea and they shared a laugh

so he shared it with me

(then Darkness)

months later an idea for a song popped into my head

and I couldn't shake it

so we worked it to nearly 60% completion

until Life swallowed us up

(more Darkness)

next I heard that it was the background of a '30 Rock' scene

(a faux-movie poster)

it does not matter if Ross'-ex-Liz stole or borrowed the idea

from Tina's-character-Liz

the real question is broader:

can two different people, thousands of miles apart, independently come up with the same idea?

(for example, Con Air: the Musical)

I vote Yes.

bananastream

a simple thought
such as
I could eat a banana now
leads to a less simpler thought
such as
that first caveguy/cavegal
who mustered the courage to peel Her
and eat what's inside
that's Real.
real Something (to be determined).
if Time is more valuable(powerful?) than Money
Hunger may be more powerful than Time
if you could measure such things
i'm still hungry
for knowledge and also bananas.

Concert Review 2

THE QUEERS / TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET / MASKED INTRUDER / THE ACROBRATS

Church, Boston, MA 3/3/13

The Acrobrats will someday tell their grandchildren that they opened for the Queers.

Masked Intruder is not just a catchy name, they actually wear masks!  What else can I say?

Teenage Bottlerocket was better than I anticipated. Is it fair to say that the songs sung by Kody were a bit more melodic & catchy and the songs sung by Ray were a bit more raw & energetic? Maybe. It would be Unfair to assume they each wrote those particular songs, and then judge them on that assumption. I am intrigued and will do further research.

The Queers opened with "Tamara is a Punk" and never looked back. We danced shouted and raised our fists to "I Met Her At the Rat" "Kicked Out of the Webelos" "I Hate Everything" "You're Tripping" "Granolahead" and probably 30 more songs during a 30 minute set.

My journalistic integrity must be questioned at this point. I tried to get as close to Joe Queer as possible, like a fanatical Beatles girl, only drunk. I let ugly people push me around while riding the wave of loud power chords and an overwhelming smell of body odor.

Joe Queer taught me many years ago that a) it's ok to write silly songs and b) it's ok for those silly songs to be energetic and intense and VERY real. 

Thank you Joe.