in only a few hours, u2 will take the stage downtown.
and, at last, the genius of my ticket strategy is becoming fully appreciated.
you see, i sense panic in the air from ticket brokers and scalpers.
this, combined with the public's overall disdain for the band and its do-good overexposure, is what i fully anticipated.
indeed, what has been a seller's market for the past eight months is suddenly turning into a buyer's dream. and fortunately for me, i'm one of the few still interested in buying. armed with this insight and my powerful negotiating skills, i'll swing by the atm on the way to the american airlines center tonite and use that handy $50 fast cash feature to fill my empty wallet.
that simple transaction should be all i need to enjoy the show from about the eighth row. ("no, that's all right. KEEP THE CHANGE, my good and desperate scalper friend. buy your kid a gift on the way home. in fact, here's a new potato for you.")
with what money i've got left in my wallet, i'll pick up a t-shirt for my fellow funegrans and some popcorn for the show.
but first, i'll catch a few z's. a little nap before the show would be good. i'm just gonna take my time getting to the arena. see, along with the sense of panic in the air, i'm also catching a vibe of general indifference to the show. i mean, i guess they might start the show if i haven't arrived yet . . . ahh, forget it, i'm not gonna take any chances.
let's see. show starts at 7:30. traffic should be non-existent. 2 minutes to park, :45 to walk to the scalper just outside the main entrance, :15 for the slightly unsavory ticket transaction, a minute and a half to get to my seat. just to be safe, i'll allow another minute.
to ensure my usual punctual arrival, i'll leave the house at 7:10 and will post my reaction to the show later tonite.
p.s. what size t-shirt would you like?
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Saturday, August 27, 2005
civility on two wheels
fellow funegrans--
on my bike ride this morning, i was struck by something.
not like a water balloon or egg or errant tee shot or anything like that.
rather, i was observing the camaraderie -- or lack thereof -- between cyclists.
you see, this morning i made an effort to connect with every cyclist i passed. i tried to make eye contact. extend a mild wave. curl the edges of my mouth north as to indicate friendship. kindness. a certain esprit de corps on the road.
i got nothing in return.
my offers of goodwill were summarily rejected. in fact, i wasn't even acknowledged. perhaps my fellow cyclists were envious of my unique, if not wholly unorthodox "west coast" spread eagle pedaling motion. or maybe it was my tricked out $199 bike that spawned envy instead of friendship. indeed, a mix of indifference and competitive hosility permeated the toasty texas air this morning. curious.
contrast that with the sheer bonding that takes place when two motorcyclists encounter each other on the road. the universal biker's salute serves as a show of solidarity. a feeling of belonging to some death-defying fraternity. a recognition of a richer way of getting from point a to point b. a wink and a nod to sharing a secret -- that the journey is the destination.
what a shame, then, that the cyclists i encountered today would view riding their bike as a chore. a task to be crossed off the daily to-do list. a joyless exercise that ignores the fresh air and surroundings whereas motorcycling is a thrill to be savored. a sensory explosion that gives life.
at least my observations about cyclists myopically focused on fitness are consistent with the odd looks i get when i wink and wave at my fellow gym members as they complete a set of 8 squats or a few pull-ups.
if only i could train for skiing atop a harley.
chile or bust, brothers.
on my bike ride this morning, i was struck by something.
not like a water balloon or egg or errant tee shot or anything like that.
rather, i was observing the camaraderie -- or lack thereof -- between cyclists.
you see, this morning i made an effort to connect with every cyclist i passed. i tried to make eye contact. extend a mild wave. curl the edges of my mouth north as to indicate friendship. kindness. a certain esprit de corps on the road.
i got nothing in return.
my offers of goodwill were summarily rejected. in fact, i wasn't even acknowledged. perhaps my fellow cyclists were envious of my unique, if not wholly unorthodox "west coast" spread eagle pedaling motion. or maybe it was my tricked out $199 bike that spawned envy instead of friendship. indeed, a mix of indifference and competitive hosility permeated the toasty texas air this morning. curious.
contrast that with the sheer bonding that takes place when two motorcyclists encounter each other on the road. the universal biker's salute serves as a show of solidarity. a feeling of belonging to some death-defying fraternity. a recognition of a richer way of getting from point a to point b. a wink and a nod to sharing a secret -- that the journey is the destination.
what a shame, then, that the cyclists i encountered today would view riding their bike as a chore. a task to be crossed off the daily to-do list. a joyless exercise that ignores the fresh air and surroundings whereas motorcycling is a thrill to be savored. a sensory explosion that gives life.
at least my observations about cyclists myopically focused on fitness are consistent with the odd looks i get when i wink and wave at my fellow gym members as they complete a set of 8 squats or a few pull-ups.
if only i could train for skiing atop a harley.
chile or bust, brothers.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Run, Do Not Walk, To Get This Book
On our trip to Phoenix, I completed N.T. Wright's book "The Challenge of Jesus." I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It was immensely helpful in gaining a better understanding of Jesus' mission, particularly as it relates to the salvation of Israel. Here are some representative quotes:
"His kingdom-agenda for Israel demanded that Israel leave off her frantic and paranoid self-defense, reinforced as it was now by the ancestral codes, and embrace instead the vocation of being light of the world, the salt of the earth..." (sound familiar?)
"Jesus, at the very center of his vocation , believed himself called to do and be in relation to Israel what, in Scripture and Jewish belief, the Temple was and did."
"We must therefore get used to a mission that includes living the true Christian praxis. Christian praxis consists in the love of God in Christ being poured out in us and through us. If this is truly happening, it is not damaged by the post-modern critique, the hermeneutic of suspicion. We must get used to telling the story of God, , Israel, Jesus and the world as the true metanarrative, the story of healing and self-giving love. We must get used to living as those who have truly died and and risen with Christ so that our self, having been thoroughly deconstructed, can be put back together, not by the agendas that the world presses upon us but by God's spirit."
"Your task is to find the symoblic ways of doing things differently, planting flags in hostile soil, setting up signposts that say there is a different way to be human. And when people are puzzled at what you are doing, find ways - fresh ways of telling the story of the return of the human race from its exile, and use these stories as your explanation."
Saturday, July 16, 2005
The Arizona Biltmore
If you have a chance to go here, take advantage of it. Not the nicest resort I've ever been too, but the most storied and unusual. The Frank Lloyd Wright architecture (and sprites overseeing the gardens) are truly fascinating. Libby and I had a great time despite reaching 116 degrees on our first day there.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Monday, June 13, 2005
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
First Installment from Jefe in Shanghai
Okay - I now get the beauty of the Chinese women...
having a great time - more from a stance of being
creatively pelted with stimuli from all directions -
plus I like the pulse of a large city that you can
walk around and have a visceral experience every
second of the day.
The point of my Funegro today was going to be my
thought while walking to the office today is that Karl
Marx was wrong... Religion is not the opiate of the
masses - it's Coke and Pepsi!
Friday, May 20, 2005
to feel alive
as usual the timing of the cabin trip is exquisite.
i think.
with so many loose ends and uncertainties swirling about, this, clearly, is a curious time in life.
In addition to joining Kris at a career crossroads, this is the last day of the first year of school. it's apparent the speed of life is not only catching up with our family. it is overwhelming us, evidenced by, among other things, the lack of time for funegro.
So I sit here on an AA flight in a reflective state. Being confined to a metal cylinder streaking six miles above the earth tends to do that.
in the bosom of seat 25b with my thoughts and an iPod, i'm separated from the cacophony of our lives. and i’m thinking with some clarity and little wisdom about big picture stuff. Life. Career. Family. and I think about how our kids are changing. quickly. two weeks ago, I got my first (of many to come) rejections from my child as we sat at the dinner table.
“Andrew, are you ready for me to come have lunch with you tomorrow at school?”
“Uh. I don’t know. I’m gonna be real busy.”
[as my fork and jaw thud on my plate] “What?!”
“We’ve got a lot going on. Our class is doing a big project. I’m gonna be busy.”
“Are you saying I shouldn’t come have lunch with you?”
“Uh. Yes.”
I didn’t see that one coming. (he relented. we had lunch. it was genius.)
but that rejection created a depth of hurt I’ve never felt. Have had kids not greet me when I got home. Kids go to Mom instead of me. But I’d never had a child reject me in that way.
To feel such a raw and new emotion was tough – yet it was oddly life affirming. Made me think about the range of emotions we feel. the things that make us feel human. feel alive. like pain. joy. surfing. riding a harley. And I wonder about the emotions I haven’t felt in my forty-something years of living. The emotions that await me – for better or for worse.
how i long to feel alive. To breathe. And I realize how constricting so many of my daily machinations are. The stresses of obligations, of work, of time literally keep me from breathing. the shortness of breathing reminds me of the shortness of life. contrast that with the deep, cleansing breath which startlingly reminds me how precious life is – and how our often self-imposed pressures rob us of living.
There in lies the joy of the cabin. Relief from obligations, from pressures, from media, from unwanted messages, from clutter.
The simplicity of the cabin brings life.
bring it on.
i think.
with so many loose ends and uncertainties swirling about, this, clearly, is a curious time in life.
In addition to joining Kris at a career crossroads, this is the last day of the first year of school. it's apparent the speed of life is not only catching up with our family. it is overwhelming us, evidenced by, among other things, the lack of time for funegro.
So I sit here on an AA flight in a reflective state. Being confined to a metal cylinder streaking six miles above the earth tends to do that.
in the bosom of seat 25b with my thoughts and an iPod, i'm separated from the cacophony of our lives. and i’m thinking with some clarity and little wisdom about big picture stuff. Life. Career. Family. and I think about how our kids are changing. quickly. two weeks ago, I got my first (of many to come) rejections from my child as we sat at the dinner table.
“Andrew, are you ready for me to come have lunch with you tomorrow at school?”
“Uh. I don’t know. I’m gonna be real busy.”
[as my fork and jaw thud on my plate] “What?!”
“We’ve got a lot going on. Our class is doing a big project. I’m gonna be busy.”
“Are you saying I shouldn’t come have lunch with you?”
“Uh. Yes.”
I didn’t see that one coming. (he relented. we had lunch. it was genius.)
but that rejection created a depth of hurt I’ve never felt. Have had kids not greet me when I got home. Kids go to Mom instead of me. But I’d never had a child reject me in that way.
To feel such a raw and new emotion was tough – yet it was oddly life affirming. Made me think about the range of emotions we feel. the things that make us feel human. feel alive. like pain. joy. surfing. riding a harley. And I wonder about the emotions I haven’t felt in my forty-something years of living. The emotions that await me – for better or for worse.
how i long to feel alive. To breathe. And I realize how constricting so many of my daily machinations are. The stresses of obligations, of work, of time literally keep me from breathing. the shortness of breathing reminds me of the shortness of life. contrast that with the deep, cleansing breath which startlingly reminds me how precious life is – and how our often self-imposed pressures rob us of living.
There in lies the joy of the cabin. Relief from obligations, from pressures, from media, from unwanted messages, from clutter.
The simplicity of the cabin brings life.
bring it on.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Friday, April 29, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Monday, April 11, 2005
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Mindwaves subliminal and self hypnosis recordings - Create Your Own Subliminal and Hypnotic MP3s
Mindwaves subliminal and self hypnosis recordings - Create Your Own Subliminal and Hypnotic MP3s
Kline - might be a good way to score with the ladies. "I really like this Interpol song, and for some reason I just have to get out of this shirt."
Kline - might be a good way to score with the ladies. "I really like this Interpol song, and for some reason I just have to get out of this shirt."
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Monday, April 04, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Stairway to Heaven Backwards
Stairway to Heaven Backwards
Been a while since I heard the phrase "backward masking"; reminds of the junior high youth group and a youth minister desperately trying to be hip.
Been a while since I heard the phrase "backward masking"; reminds of the junior high youth group and a youth minister desperately trying to be hip.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Saturday, March 19, 2005
a great meal
i recently read that the difference between a good meal and a great meal is an hour and a half.
mary and i were powerfully reminded of that thursday nite after our three-hour dinner with eric and danna at cafe pacific. how refreshing it was to enjoy first-class food and world-class conversation at a leisurely pace. it served as a sharp and most welcome contrast to our day, our week, our lives of rushing and busy-ness.
and a testament to the benefits of slow eating, savoring the flavors and the spirits of an evening not soon forgotten.
a great meal, indeed.
mary and i were powerfully reminded of that thursday nite after our three-hour dinner with eric and danna at cafe pacific. how refreshing it was to enjoy first-class food and world-class conversation at a leisurely pace. it served as a sharp and most welcome contrast to our day, our week, our lives of rushing and busy-ness.
and a testament to the benefits of slow eating, savoring the flavors and the spirits of an evening not soon forgotten.
a great meal, indeed.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Sunday, March 13, 2005
u2 or new potatoes?
i'm an idiot. (you may enunciate that last word like napoleon dynamite, if you'd like.)
yesterday at 10 a.m., tickets for u2's october 29 show -- their only dallas appearance -- went on sale at ticketmaster.com. this was only one of two shows scheduled for texas -- houston being the other lone star venue.
at 9.50. i logged on, relentlessly refreshing the site until the digital ticket window slid open, so to speak. when it did, i humbly put in my order for two "best available seats."
while i waited, i imagined the ticketmaster himself running his unmanicured index finger over his well-worn american airlines center seating map, checking the inventory of seats against his reams of tractor-fed computer printout records.
but instead of watching some hunched over clerk work through my request, i was staring into my dell monitor, visually engaged by a loading bar that promised my request was being processed. i should know the answer within a minute, it reassured me.
the tension to see if my meager two-ticket request would be honored was building.
processing . . . processing . . . processing . . .
undoubtedly, my request was one of tens of thousands received at the strike of 10. i imagined would-be concert goers from oklahoma to amarillo to even the key city would be vying for one of the precious 18,000 seats available.
(actually, that number was certainly decimated by pre-sale tickets made available tuesday to those "subscribers" of u2.com.)
processing . . . processing . . . processing . . .
and then a new screen with this message:
"We are holding these tickets just for you." success! "You have 2:00 to purchase these before they are released."
my wide eyes scanned the page to find the section and seat. yet it wasn't the numbers that caught my eyes. it was this stark and unapologetic message: WARNING: THESE SEATS ARE BEHIND THE STAGE.
WHAT!!!!
[time remaining to purchase: 1:35]
this can't be right. let me check the seating map. oh no. these seats are, quite possibly, the worst seats in the house. one of the top rows in the upper deck. right smack behind the stage.
[time remaining to purchase: 1:15]
that's when the indignity of it all kicked in.
i can't stand for this!!! $120 for these two seats?!?!?!? what an outrage!!! don't you know who you're dealing with?! why, i saw these guys in '82 at the opry hall in austin for $7 and was four rows back. at the l.a. sports arena, i saw 'em -- twice! and mary and i were in the 13th row at the cotton bowl in '97, where we made eye contact with bono when he got out of that lemon car thing! what a slap in the face. i won't stand for it!!!! why don't you take your section 305 upper terrace "seats" and shove 'em up your achtung, baby!!
[time remaining to purchase: :40]
hmmm . . . of course, those guys do put on the best rock show in the world. and it sure would be fun to go.
[time remaining to purchase: :20]
yeah, but $60?!?! for a seat like that??? besides, in that section i bet they're only seats in the technical sense. hard bicycle seats, probably. and what an insult to be exiled to the concertgoer's siberia?? who do they think i am? some indiscriminate bandwagon-hopper who doesn't care about the quality of the experience. i mean, i only pay to see the front of performers, not their backs and that bald spot on The Edge.
tick . . tick . . . tick . . .
it was in this time-pressured moment of righteous fan indignation i made the click i'll regret from now until october 29.
"search for other seats"
i tell you, i'm an idiot. and i don't have to tell you there were no other seats to be found.
except the pair i passed up on -- now for sale on ebay for $248.
in my mind's eye, i see the wise old ticketmaster today, still shaking his head in disbelief at the one guy who passed on u2 tickets at face value.
cut to this afternoon. the doorbell rings.
a middle-aged woman who's spent too much time in the sun, dressed in an old t-shirt and ill-fitting shorts, stands on our porch. she's accompanied by a box of fruit and vegetables. and the knife in her hand, which she wields to quickly slice samples of her wares.
my hands are filling up with triangles of oranges, corn, tomatoes, grapefruit, apples as she delivers her aggressive sales pitch for the produce she's hawking today. grown by her family on their farm. only a couple of boxes left, she warns.
at which time her tooth-challenged pre-teen daughter joins her in the sales pitch, to add to the emotional plea.
after a bewildering and diversion-filled negotiation and transaction, she relieved me of a little more than $60 in exchange for a box of fresh produce. and as her disheveled family drove away in their dirty white pickup, mary and i started blaming each other. why can't you say no? why can't you? i thought you wanted them? you're the one who wanted to help that family??
we're suckers. total fools, we decided. for shelling out our hard earned cash in such an irresponsible manner. for buying groceries when we weren't shopping for 'em. for being too nice, dammit!
and in our moment of finger-pointing and hand-wringing, it painfully crystallized for me:
by spending the equivalent of the concert ticket i passed on yesterday, i'd rather have a box of vegetables and potatoes than see the world's greatest rock n' roll band.
consider this a cry for help . . .
yesterday at 10 a.m., tickets for u2's october 29 show -- their only dallas appearance -- went on sale at ticketmaster.com. this was only one of two shows scheduled for texas -- houston being the other lone star venue.
at 9.50. i logged on, relentlessly refreshing the site until the digital ticket window slid open, so to speak. when it did, i humbly put in my order for two "best available seats."
while i waited, i imagined the ticketmaster himself running his unmanicured index finger over his well-worn american airlines center seating map, checking the inventory of seats against his reams of tractor-fed computer printout records.
but instead of watching some hunched over clerk work through my request, i was staring into my dell monitor, visually engaged by a loading bar that promised my request was being processed. i should know the answer within a minute, it reassured me.
the tension to see if my meager two-ticket request would be honored was building.
processing . . . processing . . . processing . . .
undoubtedly, my request was one of tens of thousands received at the strike of 10. i imagined would-be concert goers from oklahoma to amarillo to even the key city would be vying for one of the precious 18,000 seats available.
(actually, that number was certainly decimated by pre-sale tickets made available tuesday to those "subscribers" of u2.com.)
processing . . . processing . . . processing . . .
and then a new screen with this message:
"We are holding these tickets just for you." success! "You have 2:00 to purchase these before they are released."
my wide eyes scanned the page to find the section and seat. yet it wasn't the numbers that caught my eyes. it was this stark and unapologetic message: WARNING: THESE SEATS ARE BEHIND THE STAGE.
WHAT!!!!
[time remaining to purchase: 1:35]
this can't be right. let me check the seating map. oh no. these seats are, quite possibly, the worst seats in the house. one of the top rows in the upper deck. right smack behind the stage.
[time remaining to purchase: 1:15]
that's when the indignity of it all kicked in.
i can't stand for this!!! $120 for these two seats?!?!?!? what an outrage!!! don't you know who you're dealing with?! why, i saw these guys in '82 at the opry hall in austin for $7 and was four rows back. at the l.a. sports arena, i saw 'em -- twice! and mary and i were in the 13th row at the cotton bowl in '97, where we made eye contact with bono when he got out of that lemon car thing! what a slap in the face. i won't stand for it!!!! why don't you take your section 305 upper terrace "seats" and shove 'em up your achtung, baby!!
[time remaining to purchase: :40]
hmmm . . . of course, those guys do put on the best rock show in the world. and it sure would be fun to go.
[time remaining to purchase: :20]
yeah, but $60?!?! for a seat like that??? besides, in that section i bet they're only seats in the technical sense. hard bicycle seats, probably. and what an insult to be exiled to the concertgoer's siberia?? who do they think i am? some indiscriminate bandwagon-hopper who doesn't care about the quality of the experience. i mean, i only pay to see the front of performers, not their backs and that bald spot on The Edge.
tick . . tick . . . tick . . .
it was in this time-pressured moment of righteous fan indignation i made the click i'll regret from now until october 29.
"search for other seats"
i tell you, i'm an idiot. and i don't have to tell you there were no other seats to be found.
except the pair i passed up on -- now for sale on ebay for $248.
in my mind's eye, i see the wise old ticketmaster today, still shaking his head in disbelief at the one guy who passed on u2 tickets at face value.
cut to this afternoon. the doorbell rings.
a middle-aged woman who's spent too much time in the sun, dressed in an old t-shirt and ill-fitting shorts, stands on our porch. she's accompanied by a box of fruit and vegetables. and the knife in her hand, which she wields to quickly slice samples of her wares.
my hands are filling up with triangles of oranges, corn, tomatoes, grapefruit, apples as she delivers her aggressive sales pitch for the produce she's hawking today. grown by her family on their farm. only a couple of boxes left, she warns.
at which time her tooth-challenged pre-teen daughter joins her in the sales pitch, to add to the emotional plea.
after a bewildering and diversion-filled negotiation and transaction, she relieved me of a little more than $60 in exchange for a box of fresh produce. and as her disheveled family drove away in their dirty white pickup, mary and i started blaming each other. why can't you say no? why can't you? i thought you wanted them? you're the one who wanted to help that family??
we're suckers. total fools, we decided. for shelling out our hard earned cash in such an irresponsible manner. for buying groceries when we weren't shopping for 'em. for being too nice, dammit!
and in our moment of finger-pointing and hand-wringing, it painfully crystallized for me:
by spending the equivalent of the concert ticket i passed on yesterday, i'd rather have a box of vegetables and potatoes than see the world's greatest rock n' roll band.
consider this a cry for help . . .
Saturday, February 26, 2005
the sting of death
we buried cousin phil in the desert yesterday.
the iconoclast. the unconventional. the contrarian. he was one of my best friends.
in the absence of a brother, phil -- and my other male cousin -- filled that role. and so it was with great sorrow and gladness that brian and i accepted the invitation to speak about phil at the services following the burial yesterday in tucson.
we shared stories and remembrances of phil with an overflow crowd, which included all of my family.
the show of family strength was impressive; the time with family was glorious, and served as a powerful reminder of the role of family in times of need and grief.
and now, home, separated from the strength in numbers and the joy and novelty of a family reunion, the grief is sharper. the numbness is wearing away to reveal the loss is real. i feel the sting.
it is a stark reminder of james' observation: we are but a vapor. with what arrogance we assume that we will have tomorrow to enjoy each other.
let us, then, appreciate the beauty of friendship and the gift of life we share today.
the iconoclast. the unconventional. the contrarian. he was one of my best friends.
in the absence of a brother, phil -- and my other male cousin -- filled that role. and so it was with great sorrow and gladness that brian and i accepted the invitation to speak about phil at the services following the burial yesterday in tucson.
we shared stories and remembrances of phil with an overflow crowd, which included all of my family.
the show of family strength was impressive; the time with family was glorious, and served as a powerful reminder of the role of family in times of need and grief.
and now, home, separated from the strength in numbers and the joy and novelty of a family reunion, the grief is sharper. the numbness is wearing away to reveal the loss is real. i feel the sting.
it is a stark reminder of james' observation: we are but a vapor. with what arrogance we assume that we will have tomorrow to enjoy each other.
let us, then, appreciate the beauty of friendship and the gift of life we share today.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
my newest deaconly purpose
since i've been relieved of my official assembly counting duties (i confess to still doing a little "freelance" counting when i can), this could be my newest passion for ministry: staying vigilant and watching for the "mystery worshipper."
Monday, February 07, 2005
the gallery of our psyche
greetings, fellow funegrans --
just finished reading a pretty cool book, in search of captain zero. basically its the tale of a surfer's road trip from ny to costa rica, combined with flashbacks to the author's days of smuggling weed. i recommend the read. entertaining.
perhaps my favorite passage is allan weisbecker's description of being on the north shore of oahu in 1969, when the biggest storm of the 20th century hit the island. (side note: if you haven't seen this storm depicted in the amazing documentary, riding giants, you must. required surf camp reading.) anyway, on that fateful december nite, he and his surfing bud christopher were sitting in their beachfront home, smoking bowls of hash while homes around them were being evacuated. so he writes,
i love that concept of images hanging in the gallery of our psyche. a quick review of my psyche's gallery reveals a few beauties. in one wing are images of eric and d.a. riding harleys into an impossibly large new mexican sky. my son experiencing the pacific ocean for the first time. jeff and dale paddling their yellow surfboards with great urgency up the face of a massive 15 foot wave in mexico. watching ted's feet slip out from under him on stage. sharing a high altitude rock and a prayer with kris.
what's hanging in your gallery? what's your masterpiece?
just finished reading a pretty cool book, in search of captain zero. basically its the tale of a surfer's road trip from ny to costa rica, combined with flashbacks to the author's days of smuggling weed. i recommend the read. entertaining.
perhaps my favorite passage is allan weisbecker's description of being on the north shore of oahu in 1969, when the biggest storm of the 20th century hit the island. (side note: if you haven't seen this storm depicted in the amazing documentary, riding giants, you must. required surf camp reading.) anyway, on that fateful december nite, he and his surfing bud christopher were sitting in their beachfront home, smoking bowls of hash while homes around them were being evacuated. so he writes,
around midnight . . . christopher opened the door, which faced side-shore, then stepped onto the porch and looked seaward. like a bad actor in a low-budget horror flick, he immediately sprang back inside, slammed the door and spread his arms against it, as if attempting to bar the entrance of an approaching monster. there are moments in one's life that become frozen in time, images hung in the gallery of the psyche. that tiny fraction of time, that image of christopher leaning backward against the door of our house on the night of december 4, 1969, his mouth hanging open in dunderheaded disbelief, is surely a masterpiece of my collection.
i love that concept of images hanging in the gallery of our psyche. a quick review of my psyche's gallery reveals a few beauties. in one wing are images of eric and d.a. riding harleys into an impossibly large new mexican sky. my son experiencing the pacific ocean for the first time. jeff and dale paddling their yellow surfboards with great urgency up the face of a massive 15 foot wave in mexico. watching ted's feet slip out from under him on stage. sharing a high altitude rock and a prayer with kris.
what's hanging in your gallery? what's your masterpiece?
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
Friday, January 28, 2005
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Monday, January 24, 2005
Bob Parsons' 16 Rules to Live By
Bob Parsons founded Parsons Tech and then sold it to Intuit. He now owns GoDaddy.com, the largest domain name registrar...
Here are the 16 rules I try to live by:
1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”
2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
8. Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."
15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time.”
Here are the 16 rules I try to live by:
1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”
2. Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”
4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”
5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”
6. Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
7. Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
8. Be quick to decide. Remember what the Union Civil War general, Tecumseh Sherman said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”
9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.
10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
12. Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
13. Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
14. Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."
15. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time.”
Sunday, January 23, 2005
kiddie records
this is pretty cool.
"For the entire 2005 year, Basic Hip Digital Oddio will be featuring weekly stories and songs from the golden age of children's records, a period which ran from the mid 1940s into the early 1950s. The higher quality MP3 downloads of each record will only be available during the week it is featured."
next week: tales of uncle remus.
"For the entire 2005 year, Basic Hip Digital Oddio will be featuring weekly stories and songs from the golden age of children's records, a period which ran from the mid 1940s into the early 1950s. The higher quality MP3 downloads of each record will only be available during the week it is featured."
next week: tales of uncle remus.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Rock Star Name Generator > Get your Rock Star Music Name > Rockstarname.com
Rock Star Name Generator > Get your Rock Star Music Name > Rockstarname.com
Find your rockstar name - mine is Damien Stone.
Find your rockstar name - mine is Damien Stone.
Friday, January 07, 2005
I like this site...
It's a little difficult to figure out, but it's a great way to listen to some tunes at work...give it a whirl...
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