Vacation (All I Ever Wanted)

I will be outta here shortly folks, and heading west tomorrow morning. See y'all on Tuesday.

Misty Mountain Hop

For the Lord of the Rings fans among you, my loyal half dozen...

Ian McKellen has what is best described as an online jouranl of sorts, where he's recorded his impressions of the filming of the Lord of the Rings. Both The Grey Book and the now The White Book makes for interesting reading. He also answers fan questions here and here.

You can now pre-order your copy of the extended edition (43 extra minutes of footage) of The Two Towers.

Boys of Summer Under Cover

I was driving home from work the other day, punching through my radio pre-sets in search of a tune, when I heard something very familiar. But very different.

It was 'The Boys of Summer' - but not as recorded by Don Henley. This version was done all punk rock like - right down to exchanging the 'Deadhead' reference to a 'Black Flag' reference. I can't stand Don Henley's music (and anything by The Eagles makes me scream in horror) but this version simply rocked. So I did a little internet digging, because I wanted to know who was behind this cover. Turns out a band called The Ataris covered Boys of Summer and though they never intended the song to be released as a single, it's been getting a lot of airplay.

So very soon I'll be heading over to Newbury Comics to get the Ataris' album. Because I love cover songs. Not cover songs as performed by your generic bar band in a generic imitative fashion though...I mean covers where one artist takes another's material and puts a different spin (for lack of a better word) on it. These are some of my favorite covers, in no particular order. (Yeah, another list! Can you dig it?) The original artists are in parentheses.
1. Fortunate Son by Sleater-Kinney (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
2. Don't Think Twice, It's Allright by Mike Ness (Bob Dylan)
3. One by Johnny Cash (U2)
4. I Got You Babe by Chrissy Hynde and UB40 (Sonny & Cher)
5. Breathless by X (Jerry Lee Lewis)
6. Fairy Tale of New York by No Use For A Name (The Pogues)
7. Just What I Needed by The Billroys (The Cars)
8. You Dirty Rat by Letters To Cleo (Scruffy The Cat)
9. Lake of Fire by Nirvana (Meat Puppets)
10. Ring of Fire by Social Distortion (Johnny Cash)

Given time and enough jogging of memory, the list could easily go on. Think I've omitted a well-turned out cover song? Send me an email, since the comments seem to be down at the moment.

Excitable Boy

This weekend I am skipping merrily off to Rapid City, South Dakota, to attend a friend's wedding. Sometime next week, expect a full debriefing/after-action report on the various acts of mayhem and tomfoolery that will shortly be occurring in the American west.

But first, I have to actually get to South Dakota. And I do not like to fly, not one single bit. I don't even like it when friends, family or other loved ones fly. The thought of shooting through the air in a giant metal sausage stuffed with people at several hundreds of miles per hour fills my always over-thinky brainbox with thoughts of mortality and abrupt endings.

Now, the funny thing is, I perform the actual flying bit without hesitation; it's not like I'm that white-knuckled pasty-faced panicky flyer that noone wants to sit near. I'm simply very... nervous, until I touch ground again. And if someone I know is flying, I worry until I hear they've arrived safely. Oddly enough, this dislike of flying didn't set in until my mid-twenties, and odder still, since that time I've actually hurled my self out of a perfectly good airplane at 14,000 feet. But flying commercially continues to make me uncomfortable.

I can only conclude the the issue is one of control - or rather the lack of control I feel zipping about in the above mentioned metal sausage. If anything goes wrong, there's nothing - absolutely nothing - you can do but hang on for the ride. At least jumping out of an airplane, I knew that whether or not I touched down safely was ultimately up to me. No such option if you're flying the friendly skies.

So, my loyal half-dozen, this coming Friday and Monday send me some good vibrations so that the fates grant me perfect harmony.

Randandom On My Mind

Google is king of the search engines. Google is all-seeing and all-knowing, the Lidless Eye. Find out what Google has to say about you at Googlism.

daniel is false prophecy
daniel is a top spark
daniel is scragged by
daniel is great
daniel is 1
daniel is 2
daniel is back
daniel is spiffy
daniel is no threat
daniel is reborn
daniel is good at not dying
daniel is losing it
daniel is a punter of screenarts
daniel is working on sounds tickets for june 9th
daniel is a zoophile
daniel is a rockstar
daniel is safe in the lion's
daniel is lost
daniel is the biggest g or daniel the big g
daniel is now a hurricane in
daniel is back in business
daniel is a champion
daniel is scragged by barbarians' braam van straaten
daniel is great watch me float damn now why?
daniel is pseudepigraphical
daniel is pulling our collective legs
daniel is good at not dying a mother lives with the disciplined ambivalence of a do
daniel is yet future
daniel is a miracle child
daniel is a saint
daniel is safe in the lion's den
daniel is better
daniel is the heart and soul of stargate
daniel is an amazing book of prophesy and pre
daniel is a unique piece of literature among old testament books
daniel is credited as "miyako"
daniel is now standing upright when attempting to walk with his crutches
daniel is going to slide down the pole and get into his gear
daniel is naive about human nature
daniel is one of the few men about whom god says only good
daniel is unable to obey
daniel is becoming a spiritual oasis for the so
daniel is still pure
daniel is killed the team mourn
daniel is false prophecy
daniel is too sexy for his shirt
daniel is back
daniel is dead

I am glad I am good at not dying. It's a skill I've worked hard to develop.

For The Children

Just one little post then....for the little ones...

You Are Tangerine

You are a beautiful person, in a wistful kind of way. If you could, you would spend all your time daydreaming and writing poetry. You are a tragic beauty.

You are sensitive and caring, and you don't take insults well. You don't smile much, but when you do, you really mean it.

People like to be around you because you are a calming influence. You have an appreciation for all things beautiful, and you probably have some potted plants. You also most likely own a cat.

You like Sundays and hot tea. You will spend your entire life yearning for quiet beauty, which is a rarity in this world, so you read a lot.

Everyone you know thinks you're "nice."

Take the Which Led Zeppelin Song Are You? Quiz


I will never own a cat. And I'm mostly a coffee person. And 'tragic beauty?' Puh-lease - I look like your generic Irish guy from Boston. But whatever. At least I'm not 'Stairway To Heaven' - that song gives me hives.

Nothing To See Here Today

Move along. These are not the droids you're looking for.

With A Little Help From My Friends

Heather's post today about the loss of her dog set me to thinking, about my own recent loss. A number of thoughts about grieving and coping with grief have been percolating in the brain box all day. Here they are, freshly brewed. If they seem a little disjointed or unintelligible, well, I'll just have grind the beans a little finer next time around.

A brief aside: if this is the point where you're thinking 'what's the big deal about your dog dying' or 'why don't you just get a replacement' - well then sir or madam, I bid you good day. Come back tomorrow. With a clue please. And now...

I am single. I live by myself. In practical terms, this means two things. One: my apartment is very empty these days. If anything, this emptiness only magnifies the loss. By 'magnifies' I mean it shoves it right down my fucking throat each and every time I open the front door and there is no Beagle to greet me. Two: there is no girlfriend, spouse, partner - whatever you want to call it - to cut into that emptiness, to bring another friendly presence there.

So I was wondering, how I exactly have I coped with all this? There's family of course, and they've been good to me, as they've always been. But..they're busy, with lives and trials and joys of their own. Some live far way. Some are planning weddings, or running businesses, or taking care of their parents. And this is as it should be - they're not responsible for helping me to shoulder every burden.

But really, it's been my friends who have kept me from going around the bend. And not in the sense of there being some grand movement to Save Dan or Cheer Dan Up on their part. I'm sure some are unaware of much their actions - the little gestures - have meant to me. Think of flowers scattered across the surface of a dead dark pool of water. The flowers don't eliminate the pool - or even shrink it in size - but their very existence gives promise of better things to come. The many little gifts of kindness that I have received the past few weeks haven't eliminated or diminished the grief. But they have reminded that there are better things and better days to come. And sometimes that's all you need to be able to press on.

Reading Room

These are some blogs I've been checking out lately, that I think you ought to check out as well. Some of the folks doing the writing are funny. Others are informative...or provocative...or infuriating..or entertaining. And so on. The one criteria they all have in common is that they are intriguing- having come to my attention, either though random surfing or links, they've kept my attention. I'll add them all to my Daily Reads list when I get around to updating it. So take a look for yourself, and let me know what you think.

Gutrumbles
Sometimes the Acidman irks me. Sometimes he's dead on target.

Broad at Bat
The Broad is entertaining. Make me laugh=a verra good thing.

Brief Intelligence
What you get here is left-of-center political thoughts, presented and expressed intelligently. Plus cool links.

Clubbeaux
Clubbeaux knows how political correctness can strip words of their meaning.

Paperback Writer

For all of you...er, us...wannabe writers, here's a bit from The Guardian on juggling a day job and writing.

Link via 2 Blowhards.

Last Post for the Beagle

Molly returned home this morning for the last time. Her ashes are in a tiny wooden box (about the size of your average music box actually), which is padlocked shut.

As I drove home to Quincy with this box riding shotgun, I couldn't help but wonder: what the hell am I going to do with it? Setting up some sort of shrine with the box as centerpiece seems...creepy. Perhaps I could leave it on the coffee table? That would be a nice conversation starter....

Decisions, decisions.

Brought To You By The Music Desk

...and sponsored by the Department of Lists.

The day is winding down, and I'm musing on how my music choices at any given time often reflect my mood at that time. And I love lists, and Heather is way ahead of me in that department, so here's a couple of brief lists of my own. Feel free to suggest any additions, and no, there not listed in any particular order.

Ten Songs for the Angst-ridden
1. Come Calling - Cowby Junkies
2. Answering Machine - The Replacements
3. Throw Your Arms Around Me - Hunters & Collectors
4. I Still Miss Someone - Johnny Cash
5. Clare To Here - various artists
6. Misty Morning Albert Bridge - The Pogues
7. I Am Stretched On Your Grave - Sinead O'Connor
8. Burning House of Love - X (it's gotta be the acoustic version though)
9. If I Can't Change Your Mind - Bob Mould (and again, it's gotta be the acoustic version)
10. My Heart is Sair - various (but it must be performed only by bagpipes)

Ten Songs For Those About To Kick Some Ass, literally or metaphorically
1. Far Gone And Out - Jesus and Mary Chain
2. Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix
3. Whole Lotta Rosie - AC/DC
4. Aisling - Shane MacGowan and the Popes
5. Paid In Full - Eric B. and Rakim
6. Turn It On - Sleater-Kinney
7. Cry For Love - Iggy Pop
8. Little Mascara - The Replacements
9. Mother - Danzig
10. Cold Feelings - Social Distortion

I'm Not A Player

You are the Low-Fidelity All-Star. You were born
with your cool, and it's totally natural. You
run the gamut from Hipster Supreme (only they
can ingest as much coffee as you) to the geeky
hipster (Mario Kart, anyone?).


What Kind of Hipster Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Probably Mad, But Not Dangerous

1. Newspapers or magazines?
Well, I get all my news either online or on the radio, so definitely magazines.
2. Books-on-tape or regular books?
Usually regular books. I like the way the old ones smell (cause I'm weird like that), and like to mark 'em up, bend spines and pages, write in them - my books tend to acquire a weathered look.
Books-on-tape can be ok for long roadtrips.
3. Paperback or hardcover?
Paperback. I spend too much on books as it is.
4. Fiction or non-fiction?
Both. The bookcase in the living room is largely devoted to non-fiction; the one in the bedroom ontains mostly fiction. I tend to have one book of each going at any given time; I switch back and forth depending on my mood.
5. Sci-Fi/Fantasy or romance novels?
Definitely Sci-fi/fantasy. Dad brought me home a copy of The Hobbit when I was seven and that was pretty much it for me.
6. Borrow from library or buy books (either new or used)?
Again both. I have a need, a monkey on my back, that recquires me to get my greedy little monkey-hands on new books at a constant rate. Lately it's been the lovely Thomas Crane Library in Quincy, but used bookstores have been a favorite place since childhood.
7. Subscribe to magazines or buy on newsstand?
I currently have two subscriptions, both gifts, The New Yorker and Book Magazine.
8. Current best-sellers or classic literature?
Neither. I read a lot of history and a lot of genre fiction; if any are best-sellers it's coincedental. Occasionally I'll turn to a classic, though Hemingway and Kipling are long-time favorites.
9. Read books once, or re-read favorites every so often?
Certain books are like old friends - I need to catch up with them every so often.
10. Here in the U.S., we have two hot best-sellers...former First Lady Hillary Clinton's memoirs, and the new Harry Potter book (coming out June 21). If you had to read one, which one...Hillary or Harry? Why?
Definitely Harry. Because it will be a better read frankly.

Questions from This-or-That Tuesday

Completing the above list brought to my mind more of my peculiarities about books...

I'm usually reluctant and apprehensive to loan out my books, especially out-of-print or rare ones that I had trouble finding. Yes, it's silly to be possessive over material objects, but the fact is I'd loan a DVD or even my car to some one with much more ease of mind than I would a book.

So if I do loan you a book, it means you made the short list of People Dan Trusts.

I frequently give books as presents. Some would say that this indicates a lack of consideration or thought in my gift-giving process, but the opposite is true. Books are a huge part of my life and who I am; to me giving someone a book is a sign of affection, even love. It means I either thought the recipient would enjoy the book or the book I'm giving is important to me and I want to share it with the recipient.

If I give you a book and actually write something in it (which happens very rarely) then you may assume you are in the inner circle of Dandom and probably a friend for life. As noted, I do not do this often.

Since about 1990 or 1991 (I don't recall off the top of my head) I've kept a 'log' of all the books I read each year. Beyond a love of lists, I'm not sure why I do this. Probably a vague notion that just as Nick Hornby feels music is autobiographical (as explained in High Fidelity), so too are books. For any important occasion or landmark in my life, both good ones and bad ones, I can recall which books and what kind of books I was reading at the time.

When I travel - anywhere - I take a lot of reading material with me. Better to bring too much, I figure, than too come up short and experience the brain-freezing horror of having nothing to read. My hands shake as I type those words - having nothing to read was a condition I went in constant fear of as a wee 'un and I've made sure never to suffer from it again.

I absolutely love a well-written series of books, the more volumes the better. This also goes back to The Hobbit. I was enthralled with that book upon reading it and was freaking ecstatic when my Dad explained there was more books about Bilbo and hobbits and elves to be had. If reading a book is like going away, reading a series with the same characters is like returning to a favorite vacation spot.

My all-time favorite series of books? The Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian. Start with Master and Commander. Other recommendations? Well there's the Horatio Hornblower books by C.S. Forester (start with Mr. Midshipman Hornblower); The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour (start with The Daybreakers - it's not the first chronologically but it's the best introduction to the series); The Lymond Chronicles (start with Game of Kings) and The House of Niccolo (start with Niccolo Rising) by Dorothy Dunnet; and A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin (start with A Game of Thrones). I will stop here before your eyes glaze over, my loyal half-dozen, although the nagging voice in my head is whispering about the ones I omitted. (What? No Chronicles of Narnia? For shame! And what about...) Be quiet voice!

Lost in the Supermarket

Presented with certain challenges, I am always up to the task. Take work for example: I am The Terminator. Problems are received, analysed, and solutions arrived at in record time. I multi-task like a squirrel on speed - email, phone, IM - and I rarely leave for the day without a clean desk behind me.

However, there are also certain challenges that leave me...well...befuddled.

This weekend I decided to make myself some burritos, one of the few things I can cook. So off I went to the Stop and Shop, to get the necessary ingredients: tortillas, seasoning powder, one pound of ground beef, cheese....and tomatoes. The tomatoes are my nemesis.

I strolled into the produce section, found the bins with tomatoes on display, and was immediately struck dumb by the array of choices presented to me. My brain staggered and lurched - exactly what kind of tomatoes should I buy to slice up and eat with my burritos? Surely not those vaguely yellowish - yellow tomatoes in burritos would be just wrong. Perhaps the tiny ones joined together on the vine? Or maybe the slightly larger ones with the stems? How do I decide? How do other people decide - how do they know what kind of tomato should be used for burritos? Is there some sort of Tomato Kabbalah, whose initiates possess this knowledge? Long minutes passed before I finally made my decision, grabbed the two tomatoes I settled on (because I liked the color) and dash for the check-out lines.

The sad thing is - this happens everytime I have to buy tomatoes.

From Clare To Here

There's four who share this room,
and we we work out for the craic.
Sleeping late on Sundays,
well I never get to Mass.

Chorus:
It's a long way from Clare to here
It's a long way from Clare to here
It's a long, long way
It gets further by the day
It's a long, long way from Clare to here

When Friday comes around,
we're only into fighting.
Mom would like a letter home,
but I'm too tired for writing.

Chorus

It almost breaks my heart,
when I think of Josephine.
I told her I'd be coming home,
with my pockets full of green.

Chorus

The only time I feel allright,
is when I'm into drinking.
It'll sort of ease the pain of it,
and it levels out my thinking.

Chorus

I sometimes hear a piper playing,
maybe it's just a notion.
I dream I see white horses dancing,
on that other ocean.

Chorus

words and music by R. McTell

Notes From A Life

Yesterday morning a co-worker stopped me in the hall and commented on how evil I was looking. This, we agreed, is a fine thing as it can give one a slight advantage in dealing with the many zipperheads we're paid to assist. Menacing looks can help prevent the stupid questions that are the bane of my working days. In person anyway - I haven't figured out how to menace some one via email.

Later that same day a well-meaning co-worker complimented me on what she referred to as 'your new look.' Yes indeed I thought, I am surely a handsome devil. Then she ruined it by noting that 'not many guys get makeovers and change their look, I thought only woman did that.'

Blech. I'll stick with evil.

On the brighter side, I can now bend over and touch my toes. Touch the floor even. Not very exciting news for you perhaps, but when I started studying Uechi Shohei Ryu a year and half ago I could barely reach past my knees. So I'm perhaps not as old and decrepit as I sometimes feel. Repeat after me, my loyal half dozen, it's the small things...

On a similar note, last Friday night I went up to the dojo to work out. It wasn't a formal class with teaching and such, just some conditioning, sparring and bag-work. Hitting the bag with bare hands removed layers of skin from several knuckles, resulting in some lovely glistening open cuts that have, for the past week, caused folks to glance at my hands, grimace, and ask 'what the hell did you do to yourself?' Sadly, I have yet to come up with a witty answer to that question.

Wondering what to get me for my Christ-like 33rd birthday? (Jeebus, I hope so, it's only five weeks away). Let Mimi Smartypants be your guide. Mmmmmm Bacon.

And more from my strange co-workers. Yesterday some one I've never spoken to before turned and asked me ' Is it true that in their sleep people eat about eight spiders a year?'

Huh? Do I look like I know that sort of thing? Does my evil look some how make me The Master of Spiders? The Archduke of Arachnids? Hear me people - spiders are neither The Whiskey nor the The Sexy.

And then I got to thinking - how do you quantify something like that? How do you determine a person's yearly spider intake? And more important - what would drive you to do so? Who sponsors that kind of study? Apparently this is a pressing question for many - a Google search of 'eating spiders in your sleep' returned 24,700 results. Who knew?

Makes me want to sleep on my stomach though.

Amazon Weirdness on the Moon

Ever scratch your head over some of the reader reviews on Amazon.com? This gentleman has decided to start compiling them. Apparently starting just this week. Get in on the ground floor folks.

Link via Bookslut.

All The Drama That You Crave

A man. A woman. Their eternal struggle....

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

The crucial thing to keep in mind about Margret, though, is that she is playing by rules no one else understands. Every exchange with Margret holds the potential to result in my spending several weeks in traction. There is no way of judging which will and which won't, because the laws that govern her thought processes have resisted all my analysis. Not even the tiniest thing can be taken for granted, because it assumes one knows how Margret's head works. The proof is in the details, not the broad sweeps, so let me illustrate the, 'Do not fall into the trap of believing you exist in the same universe,' idea by the smallest moment, on the unremarkable Saturday that has just past. We are sitting together on the sofa. I say
'Brrrr - I'm cold.'
Margret replies
'Where?'

Link via Bear's Cave.

Blah Blah Blah

I don't know if it's the incessant rain (I feel like I'm living in freakin' Seattle ferchrissake) or what, but today is now officially a blue funk day.

See the man
The crushed up man
With the crushed up Carrolls packet in his hand
Doesn't seem to see or care
Or even understand
And all he says is:

F yez all, F yez all, F yez all

However the Washington Post daily crossword from June 9th did make me smile - a crossword in memory of June Carter Cash simply rocks. Sometimes it's the little things, ya know?

Weekend at Randandom's

Another quiz, for all you dog-lovers out there.


What Common Breed of Dog Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


Up next, in the tradition of the T'inator... I present to you Tha Shizzolator. (link via Give War A Chance.)

If you haven't been to visit Homestarrunner, then get thee hence. Turn up your speakers and check out Strongbad's email. And then you can take the quiz to find out which Homestar character you are.





Which Homestar Runner character are you?

this quiz was made by jurjyfrort

Jive Talkin'

And today's bit of randandom is.... Slangsite.com, an online dictionary of dictionary of slang, webspeak, made up words, and colloquialisms.

jive turkey: One who sees herself as much cooler than she actually is. Often used as an insult. Or just calling someone crazy.
Example: Did you see what he was wearing. He's a jive turkey. Hey, jive turkey, nice move.

From the Sports Desk

I can't help but agree with the good folks at Boston Sports Media Watch: Ron Borges is at his best when he writes about boxing.

And a brief note to the sportswriters (I'm talking to you Clark Booth and Steve Buckley) who think that Boston fans are ungrateful provincial swine who are too hard on Roger Clemens, please do the following:
1. Step down off your respective high-horses.
2. Write an essay that compares and contrasts the exits of Drew Bledsoe and Roger Clemens from the Boston sports scene.

In Memoriam

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Requiescat in Pace Cagney.

Friday Fun

It's Friday afternoon, it's sunny and warm out and I don't feel like doing a damn thing. Including writing and posting to this site. But I realize that you, my loyal half dozen, look to me for entertainment and guidance. So submitted here for your perusal is An Honest Personal Ad. (Link via The Gawker.) Check out this excerpt:

I am 25 and do not "know how to treat a woman right." I am not particularly creative, nor am I successful/ambitious/career-oriented, though I do recognize that these are code words for "wealthy."

I am not confident, which is apparently a universally desired trait, though by definition I guess this mean I am also not "cocky," which is apparently universally disdained.

Brilliant. Happy Cynical Friday everyone.

I Was a Teenage Randandom

Here's a fine article on the reaction of the 'old media' to the rise of blogging. (link via Retrogirl.)

And this is a lovely translation of the Tao De Ching I found online. If you're into that sorta thing...

Identity Theory is a 'literary website' with an excellent collection of author interviews, including some of my favorites, George Pelecanos and James Ellroy.

BREW, Inc i.e. Beagle Rescue, Education and Welfare , serving New England and the Baltimore-Washington area. Why not adopt on of these lovable hounds? You can even sponsor a beagle.

Let us sing the praises of beagles,
Fiercer than lions and swifter than eagles...

Ahem. That is all.

Hit Parade

Here at Obscurorant we believe in quality entertainment. And making fun of people. So today I bring you the best the internet has to offer on everyone's favorite haircut:

MulletJunky

Mullets Galore

Mullet Joe

Mullets Gone Mad

Hot Mullets

Rate My Mullet

Mullet Lovers

Mullet Madness

The Mark of Randandom

Fun for everybody - get your very own 'name analysis' here. (link via Sassypants.>

Here's how mine came out:

Your name of Daniel has created a most expressive nature, idealistic and inspirational, driven with a strong inner urge to be of service in some way that would uplift humanity as a whole. However, there is a tendency to assume too heavy a burden of responsibility for others, which leads to worry and undue concern. People with problems are drawn to you as they recognize you as one who has understanding and gives not only sympathy and comfort but provides also some constructive advice or assistance. You have a generous quality to your nature, but you must guard carefully against giving more than you receive or you will find yourself doing without because you have helped someone else. You love people, family, home, and friends and try to be a parent to the whole human race. While you have generally stable conditions in your personal life, you may experience some problems in business affairs through a tendency to be scattering and inattentive to details. Any health problems would show as tension in the nervous system brought on by worry.

Now some of that is quite humurous. Stable personal life? Must be that other Daniel...

Simple Gifts

1. The small of a woman's back.
2. In-jokes and laughing with friends until my stomach hurts.
3. The smell of old books (published prior to 1950) that have sat on library stacks for decades
4. A cold beer after a demanding Uechi-ryu class.
5. Reading, and drinking my morning coffee in bed on a rainy day.
6. Receiving a present unexpectedly and for no particular occasion.
7. Giving a present, for no particular occasion, that makes the recipient smile.
8. Someone offering to cook for me. I can't cook very well; I am humbled by those who have that gift and share it.
9. The Sunday funny papers. Especially Get Fuzzy.
10. The sound snow makes when it falls at night.

The above is a list of things that have made me happy at various times. They cost little or no money. As today's header proclaims, they are simple gifts. More than money or fame or professional accolades, they are the things that make life worth living. Now this is hardly an original or startling philosophical conclusion on my part- that life's meaning is not going to be found in money or fame - plenty of folks have said it before. But it does beg the questions - where then can the meaning of life be found? How does one order his or her life to find that meaning?

Not a mystery I expect to solve in a blog posting. History's great philosophers have pondered this question; it would presumptuous to think I have the solution. But I do think I have a slight glimmering - an idea slowly growing. I think some of the Old Masters had a glimmering too. Consider this:

"The way of the sword and the Way of Zen are identical, for they have the same purpose; that of killing the ego." -Yamada Jirokichi

Life is 2003 can get very complicated very fast, all under it's own impetus. Yet often we make it more complicated and more difficult for ourselves, because of our egos, our inability to let things go. How much trouble have you caused yourself because of pride, holding grudges for slights and insults real or imagined, jealousy? And how much of that energy expended was worth it? Did it get you what you wanted, what made you happy? Did your ego obscure what was really important, perhaps even steer you away from it?

These are things I've been pondering about myself lately. Some of the answers to the above questions I don't like - they don't cast me in a very favorable light. The glimmering I mentioned earlier, that I sometimes see dancing away before me, is to let go - to not listen to the ego so much. Because it's not always about me. Or you, for that matter.

Ah well - that's enough of that. I fear I've done a poor job a explaining the concept rattling about my brain box. Perhaps I'll return to it another time and try and tease out the notion into something more fully shaped.

Today's header comes from an old song titled (obviously) 'Simple Gifts.' The name may be unfamiliar to you - but if I whistled you the tune you'd recognize it. You've heard it on Oldsmobile commercials, as the theme for 'American Journal, in Copeland's 'Appalachian Spring', and many other places. But the song was written by a Shaker Elder over 150 years ago. I first heard as a child in church, and 'Simple Gifts' has always been one of my favorite songs. You can learn more about the song here. The orignal lyrics are as follows:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Blue Monday

Not a drop in the tank today folks. The inspiration well seems to have run dry. The best I could do was to google 'evil clowns' and bring you this Evil Clown Generator. Be careful, it's scary stuff.

But wait! There's more! Here's some scary clown pictures. And if you act now, you can visit this Anti-Clown site.

That's it for now. Really.

To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.
-Jack Handy