Month: September 2007 (Page 2 of 2)

To my knowledge, there’s no silver in my “silverware” drawer, but after yesterday’s purge, it is now neat and clean. My “Hollywood Bungalow” isn’t vast and the lack of storage space tends to contribute to the buildup of clutter… Books, CD’s, a growing compilation of collective works in the “baby stuff” category… a light-up model of Hogwarts Castle… The new mantra in the house is, “when in doubt, throw it out…” It’s in that same spirit I labor on this day to scour the “Blog Ideas” file:

• I’ve been meaning to buy some reusable shopping bags, but other priorities have preempted the purchase. Those little plastic bags, like the one made famous in “American Beauty,” are made from petroleum and they take over 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill, which is where most of them end up…

• A few Friday’s ago I was horizontal in my evil lair watching a day of two Red Sox games wind down. It was the day of the Red Sox “Jimmy Fund” TV/Radio telethon. This annual Boston event is so widely embraced that no other than Mr. George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees donates every year. As I lay there, my body slowly affixing to the bed as the minutes passed, I thought about donating, but I was far too comfortable and accelerating toward unconsciousness to be bothered. Then I saw this replay of a boy who’s been battling cancer for most of his brief life. In a past year he sang the national anthem at Fenway… in a full body cast. I went downstairs to this spot and shot $100 across the ether.

• Speaking of doubleheaders, Chicago Cub Hall of Famer Ernie Banks is credited with the phrase, “Let’s play two!” It captured his pure love of the game by expressing the desire to play two games every day. Sadly, the single-admission version no longer exists as a scheduled event in Major League Baseball. In fact, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and the players union states, “doubleheaders shall not be scheduled in the original schedule.” The reason is obvious.

• I don’t know if many of these are Pollock’s or if they Matter, but I’ll probably take in the show…

• Finally, “M” did come up with the quiz answer of Jimi Hendrix’ “Wind Cries Mary” from his 1967 debut, “Are You Experienced.”

I’m pretty sure “M” googled or, um, “asked” the lyrics…

No, this isn’t some “Leo’s on the ledge” post. The title of this digital scrap is a lyric from a song released on a groundbreaking record 40 years ago that I just picked up at the famous online retailer named after a river not the Nile. Any guesses? I’ll give you a hint…If you guess it I’ll burn you a copy…

I don’t know if I’ve plugged Hugh Macleod’s blog before, but his gig is “cartoons drawn on the back of business cards.” He’s a bit sardonic like yours truly, and on occasion he flips a card that really gets me.

Since in some ways I have floundered for the “last fucking decade,” I’d rather not in the next and during my vacation there was much time for contemplation. Weed pulling and shoveling rocks don’t spend much time occupying the matter grey, so something had to. While my ten year floundering has been more personal than professional, I did give some thought to a question recently posed to me: “If you could change careers and do anything you wanted, regardless of pay, what would you do?” My snappy answer was, “You mean besides catching and hitting cleanup for the Sox?” After the fantasy answer, I went serious and then drifted toward the dream-fantasy again: “I’d probably want to evangelize the benefits of alternative energy like solar, wind, hydrogen fuel-cell, etc… I want to bring Exxon-Mobil to its knees.” For now that effort is limited to not buying their products. I’d rather fund Hugo Chavez.

Well, it turned out to be a very productive week back at work, but vacation did change me and my priorities. For one, I’ll be spending less time in front of this keyboard and more time in front of human faces, primarily my family. Kyle and I have a family cookout to attend today, but until then I’ll be out in the yard in the dust, sweat and thought.

“First, there is the power of the Wind, constantly exerted over the globe…. Here is an almost incalculable power at our disposal, yet how trifling the use we make of it! It only serves to turn a few mills, blow a few vessels across the ocean, and a few trivial ends besides. What a poor compliment do we pay to our indefatigable and energetic servant!”

— Henry David Thoreau,
“Paradise (To Be) Regained” [1843]