Month: December 2005

There’ll be no Norman Rockwell Christmas here this year. Actually, maybe that image is mostly the fiction of oil and bristles, with reality being that most of us celebrate in a way that falls short of that ideal. Many families will celebrate Christmas with family voids this year. Death leaves the permanent void, and I’m thankful not to be coping with that. Christmas in Iraq doesn’t sound too appealing either, yet that is keeping many apart this season. For the fallen, the span is all remaining seasons. My wish on this Christmas Eve is for understanding, and that the light of love illuminates a path back home.

It looks like Johnny Damon is getting tailored for pinstripes, and surprisingly, I’m OK with it. The Yankees can take Johnny, but we’ll always have Paris. I wonder how loyal Yankee fans will be to a guy who plunged a red dagger into them with a two-run homer and a grand slam in the Sox’ 10-3 win in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. We’ll see. I’m also not so sure about the hair thing. I mean, Johnny’s flowing locks and facial growth are part of his individualism. It set him apart. Clean shaven, how will we tell him from the immortal Bubba Crosby? Oh, I know. Bubba can reach second base without a cutoff man from center-field in Yankee Stadium.

I admit, the addition of “Johnny Christ” to the Yankee lineup is troubling… Let’s see… Damon, Jeter, Sheffield, Ass-Rod, Matsui, Giambi, Posada… Uhhh… OK. Still, this year will be no different than any other, and it’s “pitching, pitching, pitching” that will rule. The Sox added Yankee-killer Josh Beckett to their rotation and have some fabulous young arms ready to join the fray. The Yanks? Not so much. Plus, Beckett can play center-field or shortstop when he’s not pitching, right? Right, Theo? Theo?

I got some feedback that my last post, now two weeks old, was kind of lame… a no brainer. Yeah, but it was better than nothing, which is what I’ve posted since. A search of “life as a blur” turned up some interesting images, including this, this, and this.

I guess I’ve been kinda busy with stuff… Lots of meetings… Business trips… New employees… Personal trips… Holiday celebrations… Internet shopping… Furniture shopping… Treo tweaking… A garage renovation in my basement… I’ve nary the time to respond to emails, let alone write here. In the past two weeks I’ve received and failed to respond to about 475 personal emails… Sorry. Oh, there has been some beauty in the blur.

So… A recent article in Scientific American links creativity to sexual success and schizophrenia. Hmmm… I guess i’m only half as creative as I thought…

Richard Pryor RIP

The funniest comedian EVER died last week. The strange thing is I thought about Richard Pryor the day before he died. My Uncle Dave turned me on to Rich back in the late 70’s, and I still own his vinyl recordings of that era, including “That Nigger’s Crazy” and “Bicentennial Nigger.” Mr. Pryor turned pain into laughter and integrated biting social commentary into his routines. I’d say he probably influenced my sense of comedy as much as any comedian except Johnny Carson, not to mention what he did for Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. With Richard, I learned almost anything can be funny. Johnny added the key ingredient of comic timing.

NPR did a nice tribute to his career and Salon did the same, including some Pryor audio clips. If you’ve never heard or seen Richard Pryor perform, his 1979 “Richard Pryor – Live in Concert” is a must.

Being one of the 3 people left in the world sans iPod, I manage with a 64M Nomad IIc mp3 player. It holds about an hour of music and is perfect for my workouts. In fact, that’s the only time I use it. Here’s a sampler of what’s been going through my head lately:

1. Holiday – Green Day
2. Human Touch – Bruce Springsteen
3. Coax Me – Sloan
4. Jet Pilot – Son Volt
5. Who – Son Volt
6. Six String Belief – Son Volt
7. Gramaphone – Son Volt
8. She’s the One (Cool video from 1975!) – Bruce Springsteen
9. Whatshername – Green Day
10. Note to Self: Don’t Die – Ryan Adams
11. Burning Photographs – Ryan Adams
12. Rock Your Ass – Supersuckers
13. Waiting to Derail – Whiskeytown
14. Wonderwall – Oasis cover by Ryan Adams
15. Respect – Aretha