silly white blog

wow. saw travis perform at the wiltern last night, and even the fact that we had to stand for 2 hours to watch the show didnt taint the face that they were awesome. very talented young men, i must say. by the way, what happened to all the seats at the wiltern? they are completely gone. pretty soon i will be too old to see a show there. ugh. annoying.

did i mention the show was great? lead singer fran only cursed once, and it was for emphasis, not negativity. (not counting the ‘peace the f out’ song, that is). he even thanked everyone for their support when the drummer hurt his back in a freak diving accident last year. he even thanked me, and i didnt even know about the accident. it was kind of refreshing. but that kind of proper behavior shouldnt be. we should not be surprised when big rock stars act like gentlemen, should we?

why do said performers abuse the microphone by sharing their opinions on how much the american government sucks? if you feel so strongly about it, start your own blog so that people dont have to have your opinions shoved down their ear canals along with your music. frankly, its kind of confusing, all the talent mixed with negativity.

i mean, i dont know about you, but i do not go to concerts to hear artists’ lame opinions on politics and what not. and i certainly dont go to hear them badmouth my country, especially if they are european. keep it in your own country, then. we certainly have enough of it here. case in point, last time we went to the wiltern, it was to see ‘badly drawn boy,’ whom i renamed ‘badly drunk boy,’ not very original, i know, but necessary. bdb spent a lot of his time telling us how much our country sucked, and even went so far as to say saddam, bid laden and bush are one in the same. i mean, come on, dude – take your amazing talent and do something positive with it, like sing ‘about a boy’ without forever ruining it for me. you are a guest in this country, so show a little class, you lame arse loser. and while you are at it, remember that you are a father now, and public displays of drunkeness and all over lameness should be put behind you. think of your baby, man. suppose he reads this someday and finds out how inappropriate you are?
i go to concerts to hear musicians sing. and perhaps make a few jokes. and look at them admirably. so good on you, travis (i know its an english term but i dont know any scottish ones. sorry.) you rock. literally and figuratively.

i’m at home, blowing off homework. is there some kind of irony there?
i’m contemplating vacuuming and how i fell in love with seattle last weekend.
my nose is infected from the piercing. does that make me uncool?
its incredibly sunny and happy here but i still don’t want to go out. crowds at the grocery store in the middle of the day, crowds at the gym at night. no parking anywhere, anytime. stop honking at me. you’re all so very uncool. just like me.

(2002) A few friends and I visit Brentwood Manor, a nursing/ convalescent home in West Los Angeles. Each Sunday we bring a brief church service to them, with a scripture reading, a few songs and a mini-sermon. Afterwards we visit with the residents, and today I found myself talking with Jim, a tall, thin, neatly dressed 40-something man of few words, and some intellect.

He attended the service nearly every Sunday, wore the same outfit, and never took a song sheet or read the scripture along with us. He just sat still and listened, staring straight ahead, as if in a trance. Jim always seemed severely depressed, but I commented that, on this day, he seemed particularly down. He shared he didn’t have a very happy life, living in that kind of environment. I asked him if he prayed… he did not. I shared with him how I have learned to reach out to others when I am depressed. I mentioned that there were probably many people in the home who felt the same way, who needed him, needed someone to talk to. When he agreed, I took it a step further, encouraged by the fact that I seemed to be getting through to him. I mentioned that he had a lot to offer people: he was very smart, and there was a mellow, interesting peace to his demeanor. He nodded his head slowly, then replied, “Well…I AM heavily medicated.” He slowly glanced over to see my reaction. When our eyes met, we both started laughing. It was the first time I had even seen him smile.