What? You need a reason?
Five things that are better than some things and not as good as other things
Because these things aren’t going to rank themselves and they feel bad being left off all the other lists.
5. Space
The very coolest thing about space is how spacious it is. In space, you never have to worry about whether your furniture is going to fit, or whether you’ll be able to get around that large person blocking the aisle. There are no aisles in space. Nobody is blocking your way in space. The other thing you never have to worry about in space is arriving early at your destination. Things are really far apart from each other in space. Wherever…
None should be as small as me
I wish that I were not so small
Mysteriously free
Over looking under toes
None should be as small as me
None should be as small as me
None should be as tall as trees
Trembling like two lovers
Counting five four two one three
The monster sees right through the covers
The monster sees right through the covers
Monsters fear the naming of her
Strewn upon the dew
Counting five four three one two
I’m so small and so are you
I’m so small and so are you
I’m so small and shed of you
A small place we won’t…
Ancient Mysteries
A Matter of Vital Importance
A lot of thought has gone into why this happens. The philosophers and eleven-year-olds may have their clever little joke and regale us with their clever little answer — to get to the other side — which is both trivial and tautological. But as you would expect from tenured academics or children on the cusp of puberty, no thought is given to the practical outcomes of the situation. The much more important question.
What happens when a chicken crosses a road? We’ve been consumed with why the chicken is crossing. But what’s going to happen when she gets there?
So…
How do they sleep at night?
A 1964 Chess Records Acoustic Blues Masterpiece
“My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it’s not.” — Muddy Waters
I love the electric blues, the acoustic blues, and I love Muddy Waters. So why was I blown away — and surprised — when I discovered this album, Muddy Waters: Folk Singer? I only just heard it for the first time. It can’t be the first time I heard of it, but I can imagine younger me seeing the title and thinking, “Chess records is trying to take advantage of the 1964 folk music boom. Muddy Waters ain’t no folk musician, he’s a bluesman! Avoid…
What’s He Saying Department
There’s more there than you think
Your Old Man climbs out of his chair and you hear that sound. That grunt. That groan. That groant.
“Hhhhhnnnnnnnaaaaaughnnnnauuuuuhhhhghghghgn — !”
It evokes either joy or dread. It’s, “That’s my Dad and I love him!” Or, “That’s me in twenty years, heading towards death, expressing decay in a meaningless string of vowels and aspirants ending in a glottal stop the way life ends, suddenly and without warning as the air runs out.”
And that’s where you’re wrong, because that string of vowels and aspirants is not meaningless. Recently a crack team of pre-Brobdingnagian, graduate level linguists — using the…
Prose Poem
Anthony. He’s a well-liked poet — good looking pretty — has his name on the poster and I’m uncomfortable because I’m trying to impress him and I know I’m uncomfortable and I know I’m trying to impress him but can’t stop myself — he asks if I would be willing to play saxophone behind him for his feature set. An opportunity. Our chance maybe. I ask my friend, Ralph, to join. His alto. My tenor. Anthony is genuinely grateful and buys us beer. What’s with him being all gracious? I wonder.
Ralph takes this seriously in a way I don’t…
All of them (almost) worth listening to
Just a reminder, because so many forget so many things, the Kinks were huge back in the day — my day — not just once, not just twice, but three separate times. The first time I heard them, my sister had just seen them live and was playing One for the Road (their amazing live album) all the time. She also had Low Budget (on eight-track), featuring the songs, “Superman,” and “Catch Me Now I’m Falling,” which namechecks Captain America. Enough of a hook to pull me in and make me a fan for life.
The history of the Kinks…
Gary Chapin
I write. I have always written. I play accordion. I have an extraordinary ability to be fascinated by things.
