Inspiration? Motivation?

I have not posted in a while, partially due to the usual laziness, but also because my mind has been consumed by nervousness and terror and excitement about moving. But I got everything packed; the drive went well; and I got to see some friends. Now back to real life, but in a completely different place.

Two bits I stopped at a small gas station around the Windsor/Hartland area for some caffeine and a bathroom. It was small and quaint and sold homemade pastries and had country music playing on the radio. I could've just as well been in Georgia; rather than being depressing, it was reassuring. Most places are pretty much the same. But sometimes we need to be in there, to turn things over so they can start again. And there's a sadness in it, and loss, but simply feeling is good rather than your insides being in stasis, a festering of emotion and intellect.

Sadness tends to bring hope with it.

Where were we going without ever knowing the way...

An excellent piece of music journalism.

This was just one of those blog posts that sneaks up on you and ends up making your day. Not only is the story well told, but it's told personally, in a way that makes you feel what he is feeling. I did not love Fastball like he did, but I did love other bands that way, but what this article really did for me was make me remember that one song, "The Way", one that's stuck in the head of anyone my age, inescapable.

The song that I loved most from Fastball, though, the one that I still listen to, is of off the same album: "Fire Escape". I still have that song in my music library and still enjoy listening to it. As I got older, I realized that Bob Dylan sang the same sentiment, and sang it better, 50 years ago with "All I Wanna Do", but that doesn't diminish my enjoyment of either.

But I do agree with the author--not only is music transcendent, I think it might be the one consistently transcendent thing in this life. So here's to the music that is beautiful and that "has a purpose, even if we can’t always define what it is", to the songs that I "will always know the words, until the day when I know nothing else."

A brief tangent into 'celebrity' news, which I can't promise won't happen again

Ooh! Michael Phelps smoked marijuana??

So many thoughts...

1) I don't give a fuck about Michael Phelps
2) Who gives a fuck about someone smoking a 'water pipe'?
3) It's disgusting that he is forced to apologize to every one in the fucking world for this
4) He was already arrested for a DUI when he was underage?
5) Michael Phelps is just an idiot
6) I pretty much knew that already.

Updated: Hear, Hear.

This is neither booky nor boozy, but just completely awesome

And I am inexplicably in love with Jemaine.