Man for Himself
They can't stop sleeping in the sky.
Now that all of God's people have a god,
The strange fruit belongs to the bat.
And the sweet smell keeps them fat.
The stylish needs of the poor
drive the whole world to war.
The children will not stop playing.
© David Byrd-Marrow 2002
What I'm on, right now:
Having been relatively immobile has left me time to do things that I might otherwise pass on. I'm finding it to be an interesting time, so I thought I might share some of these jewels.
The Telegraph/UK
1. Hannibal
Thank you Matt Marks. While I can't really bring myself to "recommend" this show, due to some pretty obscene content, I. Can't. Stop. Watching. I'm attracted to things that look good on screen (This reminds me that I want to watch the new 'Cosmos', a remake of Carl Sagan's journey through space). Hannibal is very pretty to look at, and the organization of the plots more than make up for the slight deviation from believability. I am more than willing to discuss.
The Guardian
2. Bill Dixon
At the recommendation of a friend, I've been taking a deeper look into the experimental music of the late 20th century. Specifically, artists with a Jazz background. At the moment I've been on Bill Dixon. I really like it and get it, but the child of the 90's me and the student of classical music me are having a discussion, mainly on wether his music is too long to be so mono. The open-minded artsy me is thinking that this isn't the point. Undetermined.
3. The Future of the Mind
I'm reading Michio Kaku's book right now, on a whim. I saw him on the Daily Show last week and decided to check it out. He talks about he enhancements scientists are making in reading/understanding the brain. It's a bit of a disappointment so far. The book only touches on topics that I wouldn't mind digging into. You can't blame Michio, though. Writing technically specific pieces for laymen is a sensitive endeavor. Not bad though, makes me want to check out other books on the subject. 6.5/10
4. Beard
Let me start by saying that I don't support what has happened to the beard. I remember, in middle and high school, boys would try their best to grow out facial hair. Even the most singular strands in places that didn't make any sense were worn with an impenetrable shield of pride. It was just a phase that I assume lots of 14-17 year old kids used to go through. Now kids don't do that, because the Justin Biebers of the world don't do it. However, the kids I went to school with who did it...well they never stopped. And now they're trouncing around my town, making it look like a hoe down had a baby with Comic-Con.
But.
About a week into my recovery (ACL) I decided (after several emotional crests of optimism, and troughs of depression spent mourning the fragile human shell) that I needed a constant. A timeline to remind me of the healing passage of time.
I decided this in front of the mirror.
So that is why I will have the beard until my first jog. Or until I can't stand the thought of being confused for the 30 year old pre-teens described earlier. Not sure about head hair, but we'll see...
Now is the time when we all get to reflect on how much money we did not save last year. Or perhaps you did. I didn't. I mean I did but not on purpose, so it doesn't count, right? We (the children of the evil 1099) also get to see how much we actually didn't make, despite misleading check amounts.
Given the amount of extra time that we citizens of the eastern United States have been received, thanks to all sorts of crap weather, I suspect that the IRS won't make its late-fee nut this year. Pity.
But this is not a rant!
This is the beginning of my new blog, "When I Can't Sleep". I get the feeling that there are a lot of blogs out there with this title. So confuse away. I imagine that the only times you'll end up here are when you can't sleep. Perhaps I should reconsider the name? "When you can't sleep??"
In any case, I should mention a dream I had last night:
I was in Sweden. I had just won a job with an orchestra there, and it was pretty miserable, although I'm not sure why. Something about food. Lutefisk?? I just had reconstructive surgery a week ago Friday, so maybe that had something to do with my state of mind. It's amazing how, when you have reconstructive surgery on your ACL, everything revolves around that one thing. I wanted gummy bears, but they were all the way in the kitchen, so I had to muster up an olympic amount of determination to get them. I should also mention that the Angry Birds brand of gummy bears is the best. On a tangent of the same note, the "sharing size" of M&M's assumes a most generous society.
Anyway, my dream isn't that important. And why should I blame Sweden for my leg pain? What's important is that I've started this thing, and then you can get to know me better than if we are just friends on Facebook.