This guy is looking for Norm, Sam, Woody and Cliff.
Archives for May 2005
Bump And Grind
It was a busier day than I intended it to be. My daughter is sick or teething or sick,or sick of teething. It really doesn’t matter, all I know is that I got about 3.5 hours of sleep last night and somehow I am still awake now. I am tired, but lost in thought.
Jack is a dreamer and tonight is a night in which I have turned off the more serious part of my brain and am just listening to music and getting lost in memory and fantasy.
I was going to put up an elaborate post about my thoughts but I don’t have it in me, so instead allow me to share a list of music that helps to illustrate what I am thinking. These are some of my favorite songs. The list is incomplete, but it is a good start.
At a later point in time I may weave a tale using the lyrics of these songs to tell the story.
Subterranean Homesick Blues- Bob Dylan
Whiskey Lullaby- Brad Paisley
Save a Horse Ride A Cowboy- Big & Rich
In My Life- The Beatles
Golden Slumbers- The Beatles
Forever Young- Rod Stewart
Young Turks- Rod Stewart
Boulevard of Broken Dreams- Green Day
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)- Green Day
My Way- Frank Sinatra
It Was A Very Good Year- Frank Sinatra
What’s Going On- Marvin Gaye
I Want To Break Free- Queen
Float On- Modest Mouse
Beautiful- Moby
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You- Led Zeppelin
Nobody’s fault but Mine- Led Zeppelin
Mr. Brightside- The Killers
Visions of Paradise- Mick Jagger
Suspicious Minds- Elvis
Burning Love- Elvis
Boys of Summer- Don Henley
Born to Run- Springsteen
Tunnel of Love- Springsteen
Come Talk To Me- Peter Gabriel
Cry- Faith Hill
The Fire Inside- Bob Seger
A Song for You – Ray Charles
Crazy Love- Ray Charles & Van Morrison
If You Could Read My Mind- Gordon Lightfoot
Love Ain’t for Keepin- The Who
Ring of Fire- Johnny Cash
Hard To Handle- Otis Redding
Where The Streets Have No Name-U2
Walk On-U2
Uninvited-Alanis Morrisette
He Makes Me Laugh
I have been meaning to mention The Monkey for a while now. The man has some very funny material and is usually good for a laugh or two. Here are a couple that made me smile.
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Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, The News Is What?
If you read this blog with any consistency than you know that I often begin by saying that I should be asleep and it is true, I should be asleep. I am not 25 anymore and the morning is going to hurt, or more likely 39.5 pounds of 4 year-old boy jumping on me is going to be harder than it used to be.
One of the greatest blessings of my life is having had so many grandparents for so many years. Unlike so many of my friends my grandparents have been there to witness the biggest events in my life. But nothing goes on forever and I find myself staring off into space, lost in memory.
Two of the three remaining grandparents are in failing health. They are both over 90 and old age is catching up with them. The end of the race is in the future, but the exact finish line is not quite in view.
The doctors tell us that they are doing all they can to continue to ensure a solid quality of life and that they cannot tell us when they will pass on but that we should expect it. I find it infuriating to hear stuff like this. I recognize that they are not clarivoyant and that given the circumstances they cannot say when or give any sort of guarantee and I am not sure that I would want it.
I am happy with their medical care. I don’t think that their providers are incompetent or stupid, but it is hard to hear these things and frustrating to know that there is very little that I can do to help.
I don’t have the education, background or training to keep up with them. I can research and ask questions and I have. I can point, poke, prod and cajole them to my heart’s delight but it doesn’t matter. And it makes me sad.
I started lifting weights more seriously again. I can feel the strength returning to my body. I am starting to venture back into the heavier weights. On the dumbbell press I can pound out three sets of 7 with a weight of 80 pounds in both arms. I can curl just under a 100 pounds and on the lat pull I can pull just short of 200 pounds.
It is not quite where I was, but it is getting there and I feel so freaking strong. I really do. I feel like I can pick up car and throw it. But all this strength is useless, meaningless and insignificant. I can’t share it with them, I can’t give my grandmother a new heart, I can’t give my grandfather legs. I can’t fix them. They have done so much for me and I can’t give back the way I want to and it just hurts.
So I have tried to be nothing but positive, to focus on the time that we have and not hold my breath. It is pointless to wallow and I will not. I’ll use this blog to voice my frustrations and concerns. I’ll scream in cyberspace and then go to my garage to work it out on the heavy bag.
And as we all prepare for the moment when my grandparents transition to wherever they go, to the moment when they go from being real people to memories of real people I have a plan.
We have started to film them, asked them to tell their stories on camera so that my children and the generations to come can look back and know a little something about who their relatives were.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not mourning the living, just trying to accept the news. It is what it is and I’ll be fine. Death is a part of life and overall I am very happy because they are still here. But it is hard to be told to prepare yourself.
Should I be freaked out that Knockin on Heaven’s Door just began playing on my iTunes.
First Saddam In His Underwear and now this
***Updated- There was a cool picture here that is no longer showing up, so instead of wrestling with the computer you can look at this.
Special thanks to Arms and Influence for this.
Qadhafi: There is No Global Terrorism, Just Islamic Terrorism
If nothing else Qadhafi is a character. I spent some time perusing Memri TV and came across this video of Qadhafi and thought that I would share it with you. For those of you using dial-up or are unable to access the video here is a link to the transcript and some highlights. Here are his opening remarks.
“The issue that worries us is that the entire world talks about terrorism, morning, noon, and night. We are not dumb, we can talk.
What is terrorism? Has any American blown up an airplane? No. Has any American strapped on an explosives belt and gone to Cairo, Tripoli, or Algiers, to blow something up? Such a thing never happened. Has any Indian gone to China to blow something up? No. Has any Russian done such things? No. Has any Italian, any Frenchman…? No.
So who carries out terrorism? Who are the ones who blow up things – which is called terrorism? Terrorism is clearly limited. It takes place in Palestine, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan.
Therefore, terrorism is Islamic. Why do we say only “terrorism”? We should say “Islamic terrorism” because beyond these two areas there is no such thing as terrorism.”
Qadhafi then provides some background:
The Red Brigades in Italy killed people, and even kidnapped and killed the Italian prime minister, whose body hasn’t been found to this day. No one claimed this was terrorism.
As for the Basques, fighting for the independence of the Basque region between France and Spain – although ETA, which is affiliated to them, is considered a terrorist organization, there has never been talk of [global] terrorism there.
These movements have been operating for decades. So where were the calls against terrorism, and the campaign against terrorism? They didn’t exist. Therefore, when we talk about “war against terror,” this means war on Islamic terrorism. We must be clear about this.
As for what terrorism is, what its causes are – this is another matter. But the current war and the campaign against terrorism – There is no global terrorism, there is Islamic terrorism.”
I cannot help but wonder where the MSM was in reporting about this speech.
First of all, the Israelis paid no attention to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for 20 years, and showed no interest in them. They declared statehood and called it Israel in 1948, and put aside the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since they considered [these areas] dispensable and unimportant, why are they fighting for them now? This is stupidity. Dozens of Jews are killed by Palestinian fedayeen even in Tel Aviv, because of their presence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. If the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were so important, why did you abandon them in 1948? You abandoned them. They were unimportant.”
I disagree with him regarding his thoughts about the West Bank and Gaza, as will many people, but for now we’ll set that aside.
So what do we make of this. What do we do with this public acknowledgement of the elephant in the room. Not to mention what does old Mo plan on doing, if anything to help stabilize the region other than make speeches.
Lots of food for thought here.