A Great Day To Be Born

After my wife's two consultations with doctors, it was agreed that our children will enter the world via a C-section tomorrow morning at 10:00. We're packing, wrapping up loose ends, battening down the hatches, so to speak. Babies are healthy but need more space than mommy's tummy can provide. My son and daughter will soon be in my arms and I finally get to meet the two latest (and last) additions to our family! Serendipitous, as tomorrow marks the passing of Ralph Waldo Emerson who (possibly) said that to have succeeded is to have left the world with, among other things, a healthy child.

One Live One Love One Blood

Call it cheesy, ineffective, bleeding-hearted; the One campaign's efforts to eradicate poverty and disease must be joined. By all of us. Tonight's episode of American Idol aside, the efforts amassed by U2's Bono and others like Bill and Melinda Gates can and MUST help others worldwide.

Who are our neighbors? Who would Jesus say they are? Who do we say they are? Do we let nationality, skin color, religion stand in the way of our compasion and ability to help?

More Chickens

Announced today that Karl Rove is being investigated by an Executive group for "possibly" politicizing the role of presidential responsibilities. Imagine...

George Bush, 41 says that the nation is suffering from "Bush fatigue". Imagine...

Congressman Dennis Kucinich is drafting an order to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney for abusing the office of the vice presidency. Imagine...

Former presidential candidate Senator George McGovern believes that both George Bush and Dick Cheney should resign.

Bush's numbers remain near record-lows. U.S. image world-wide is the lowest it's ever been. The Iraqi government is beginning to cease following orders of the U.S. military (Bush builds a wall in Iraq that no one wants while not building the one in the U.S. that people do). Imagine.

I'm embarrassed to see my nation, the one I love, collapsing because of the incompetence and failure in leadership of this administration. Still twenty months left of the greatest political failure this nation ever produced. James Buchanan is somewhere in political heaven thanking God for the theft of the 2000 election...Imagine.

Bad Bad Day

Little time to post but will complete this when I can. Really saddening day today as I learned this morning of the passing of Andrew Hill. Point of Departure really turned my head to '60s free- and compositional jazz; jazz didn't always have to be about Miles or Coltrane. Then, this afternoon's terrible news of the tragic and sudden death of journalist and historian David Halberstam. His books were wonderful, his presence (via media) in my classroom was pivotal. Damnit; overall, a really dark day for me.

Happy Earth Day and Other Musings

I've always held this day in high regard as for my entire adult life, I've felt an affinity to environmentalism. I've lived in some beautiful parts of California where I have recognized the delicate balance between natural wonder and human development. I have also seen some poor but permanent decisions made to eradicate portions (albeit globally small) of God's green earth that I regret. I've also seen from my own personal spiritual journey that today needs to take just as much importance as any other vitally important holiday. Regardless of humans' interpretation of Genesis or other creation myths, as a Christian who does cherish the story of Genesis as a parable for humanity's place in creation, I see that people were created LAST. Therefore, we are the youngest and the most youthful of all of creation and, therefore, in our youthful ignorance and arrogance, we've failed to see just where we fit (or think we fit) in the scheme of things. My children and grand-children need to live on a beautiful and natural earth and truly shouldn't have to consider anywhere else in the universe to live. Why can't we understand that, religious affiliations and earthly origins aside, as we live, we leave an impact. Typing this egocentric blog leaves a carbon footprint; energy is needed for the electricity, the fossil fuels used in the computer unit, the plastics that can't be recycled for the production of the item, et cetera. Happy Earth Day; may this day be a day to remind and suade us all to reuse, reduce and recycle all the more.

Happy birthday, Kelly Brown, who has just started yet another trip 'round on this third rock from the sun. Hope 33 is better than 32 and may 34 be even better!!! I need to know whether you and Chris are catching Derek and Susan. If you two go, the chances are better that I'll be able to (though there won't be a place for you two to stay!!!).

With emergency trips to the hospital, fetal bludgeonings of mommy's tummy, lack of sleep and impending adjustments with my two year old, I'm just praying that I'll be able to parent three children under three, maintain semblance of professionalism at work, be a good husband and keep my sanity. This all has to work; I'm not the only person who's ever done this but I sure feel like Sysyphus at this point. I'll be ridding myself of pride and shame and guilt and even privacy in order for my growing family to survive and thrive. Here goes nothing, right?

My wife and I do have the names chosen for our two new beautiful babies but for security's sake, those names will not be discussed here. I will say that they are names that, for our family, ring of tradition and history, inspiration and loss, hope and peace. I can't wait to call my babies by their given names instead of just referring to them to others. An April birthdate is looking increasingly realistic. My own mom is dreading the 26th as it is the birthday of my recently-deceased and estranged grandfather; a lot of bad blood there would not make for a good birthday this Thursday (or whatever the day)...

Okay, Easter Egg, here. Here are my faves/best of for the Allman Brothers Band, my all-time favorite band in the whole world. I have experienced this band in many forms and its current state proves to me that rock/popular/performance/improvisational music still holds great relevance in the early 21st century. While I never experienced the Duane era beyond cd's, there isn't another group out there that I've digested more of, spent more money on, made more friends over, cried more tears over, seen more in concert, traveled more to see and invested time in. So, without further ado, here goes:

ABB: Whipping Post/Dreams
Idlewild South: Midnight Rider/Liz Reed
Fillmore East (all songs available, and YES this does count as a studio album): Mountain Jam/Statesboro Blues
Eat A Peach: Blue Sky/Blue Sky
Brothers and Sisters: Jessica/Jessica
Win, Lose Or Draw: High Falls/Can't Lose What You Never Had
Pegasus: these three albums don't count at all. They can't. Duane spun in his grave while
Brothers of the Road: Berry rose from the dead simply to not be attached to the band at this
Reach For the Sky: point in the band's career. Cher? C'mon. The ABB's "lost weekend".
Seven Turns: Seven Turns/True Gravity
Shades of Two Worlds: Kind of Bird/Nobody Knows
Where It All Begins: Sailin' 'Cross the Devil's Sea/Sailin'
Hittin' the Note: High Cost of Low Living/Desdemona

Well, there we have it. Ask me tomorrow and I'll be choosing Liz Reed live and Nevertheless. Whatever, right?

Pinkies On the Wing

Well, how can I ever truly nail down Pink Floyd? So much has been already said, so much water under the bridge with this band, so much animosity created between my brother and myself...! My favorite band for well over a decade and still one of my all-time bests. Corporate radio snuffed out so much passion for the pinkies but I've recently re-discovered a fresh love for the band. While the remastered versions are the most crisp, I'm still finding great enjoyment out of the twenty-year old cd's that I have that sound "older", if you know what I mean. Because it's late and I've had a long day, here goes:

Piper At the Gates of Dawn: Astronomy Domine/Astronomy Domine
A Saucerful of Secrets: Saucerful/Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun
Atom Heart Mother: Summer '68/Atom Heart Mother Suite
Meddle: Echoes/One of These Days
Dark Side of the Moon: Time/Time
Wish You Were Here: Shine On You Crazy Diamond, parts VI-IX/Wish You Were Here
Animals: Dogs/Dogs
The Wall: Another Brick >Happiest Days of Our Lives> Another Brick/Comfortably Numb
The Final Cut: The Gunner's Dream/The Final Cut
A Momentary Lapse of Reason: On the Turning Away/Learning To Fly
The Division Bell: High Hopes/High Hopes

omitted: Ummagumma (though pick up anything from the band on this particular tour - or those incredible Fillmore West bootlegs from April, 1970), Zabriskie Point, More, Obscured By Clouds, Relics, A Collection of Great Dance Songs, A Delicate Sound of Thunder, Works and Pulse. All of these are singles, live collections or 'greatest hits' bags that don't represent album productions of the band.
I am able to say that I have seen Pink Floyd in concert. April 16, 1994 at the Rose Bowl. To this day, I still have mixed emotions about the show. The Rose Bowl was as intimate as the Sea of Tranquility, the quadraphonic sound didn't work when sitting in the very back and so many of the songs were predictibly (sp?) performed. Two hours and twenty minutes didn't do it for me; I wanted an Echoes or some other mid-blower. However, I understand that one of these concerts was more of an "event" than a band performance. I also learned the hard way that performance does not equal improvisation, as so many of David Gilmour's guitar solos were rote. And yet, to this day, I can still see the color of people's clothing from the other side of the stadium when, during Comfortably Numb, the giant disco ball lit the entire Los Angeles basin up like a Christmas tree. That, and the circular screen throwing colored lasers on the band in kaleidescopic fashion. Since that show, however, my love for Pink Floyd has developed as one of album performance. Maybe the way it should be. Never the greatest of musicians, what I've learned the most from my love affair with this band is just how much space can create feeling and emotion, sometimes more than music itself. "It's the little things", right Cameron?

Just don't get me started about the summer of 1989 in Italy...

U2

In continuing my thoughts on favorites but best ofs, I thought I'd tackle U2, one of my favorite bands. Now that The Joshua Tree has celebrated its twentieth birthday, and U2 being the one band I've followed the longest, here goes. Thinking about this, it is a bit weird to think that I was in eighth grade when The Joshua Tree came out, I felt "pressured" by my friends who already liked the band, to go pick up some of their music. I remember to this day trekking down with my mom to the Wherehouse and buying (on cassette) The Joshua Tree, Under A Blood Red Sky and October for $20. One of the greatest days of my life.

Boy: I Will Follow/I Will Follow
October: October/Gloria
War: New Year's Day/Sunday Bloody Sunday
Under A Blood Red Sky (does this get to count?): 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
The Unforgettable Fire: The Unforgettable Fire/Pride (In the Name of Love)
The Joshua Tree: Side II/Side I (got out of that one easily)
Rattle and Hum (if this counts, all the others do): Angel of Harlem/Desire
Achtung Baby: Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses/Even Better Than the Real Thing
Zooropa: So Far Away, So Close/SFA,SC
Pop: Discotheque/Discotheque
All That You Can't Leave Behind: Elevation/Beautiful Day
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb: Yahweh/City of Blinding Lights

What should I do next? Pink Floyd? Anyway, I shouldn't get started about U2 and my love for them. Or Floyd. I am showing 'Dark Side of the Rainbow' in class today to be followed up by The Wall on Monday. Good stuff.

Why Do Republicans Hate America?

The FBI raiding the private offices and homes of two Congressman under investigation being connected to the Jack Abramoff scandal. Geesh. Alberto Gonzalez showing either contempt or ineptitude today in his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee. While the Democrats have waited quite a while for this, when members of your own political party attack you for your actions and their damage on national politics, things are not good, Al. I showed up late to work this morning so I could hear Diane Feinstein's grilling of Gonzalez and thought, that while a bit harsh, her questioning sought to get to the heart of the matter. When over thirty "I don't recall" responses were given, I thought that I was back in the summer of 1987 watching the Iran-Contra investigation. Does any of this make the Democratic Party better than the GOP? No; however, politics is about playing offense when one can and accepting being in the minority when one has to. What all of this simply looks like is another Bushie plan to circle the wagons. When Karl Rove is connected, when RNC computers are used against law and guidelines by White House officials, when memoranda amazingly gets "lost", when people misspeak, when evidence contradicts statements, you have a scandal. What this also shows is just how much people, both Democrats and a growing number of Republicans, are sick and tired of the Bush regime and its unimaginable destruction it has unleashed on the nation. Tax cuts and debt, energy policy written by oil companies, lack of action against al Qaeda, the deliberate connection of 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, the manipulation or cherry-picking of intelligence to fabricate reasons for a war, the poor execution of such war and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, a failing invasion of Afghanistan, politics over policy carried out by Karl Rove, and the collapse of political dialogue among those with differing political beliefs. If this is not enough to assign a failing grade to an incomplete administration, I will hate to see what will.

Kinda Meme

Saw this on the Backstreets messageboard, so I thought I'd include mine but slightly different. I may do this more often, depending on how much I can remember. Choose an artist. List your favorite song on a particular album and what you think is the album's best or most important song? Of course, I'm starting with Bruce, since the news was officially released about his new live album being released on June 5. It'll be a very happy birthday for my father but he better like listening to Bruce that night. Anyway, here goes:

Greetings: Spirit In the Night
Wild, Innocent: Incident on 57th Street/Incident
Born To Run: Backstreets/Thunder Road
Darkness: Racing In the Street/Badlands
River: The Price You Pay/The River
NE: Used Cars/Atlantic City
USA: No Surrender/BITUSA
Tunnel: Tougher Than the Rest/Tunnel of Love
Human: Human Touch/Touch
Lucky: Lucky Town/Better Days
Joad: Across the Border/The Ghost of Tom Joad
Rising: The Rising/Rising
Devils: Jesus Was An Only Son/Long Time Comin' or Devils and Dust
Seeger: How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?/John Henry

I should do U2 or the Allmans next...

Why Again?

The tragedy of Virginia Tech.'s massacre is further proof that something is terribly amiss in our culture where thirty-two innocent people can be summarily executed as compensation for angst and a sense of emasculation. One man killed more people yesterday on a single college campus than the total number of people who will die at the end of a handgun in all of Australia, an island nation with a population of thirty million. As a parent, I see acts like this less as statistical and more as the terrible acts they are when I watch my son eat his dinner in his highchair, look up at me and say he loves me. God help the families and us, as this will happen again. And again.

Interesting how something sensational such as this can drown out the rest of the entire world's news. Darfur? Wolfowitz at the World Bank? Sectiarian division in the Iraqi government that threatens U.S. presence and stability in the region. Just what in hell is happening with Iran? Are both nations really itching for such a war? What we continue to see is that hawks in both nations, controlling the press and militaries of both governments, are pushing the people of both nations to the precipice of war. War will happen; it will simply be a matter of when. Before Bush leaves? I can see the neocons wetting themselves over the chance of seeking revenge at Iran for the Reagan-era sins and the cynics that are trying to set the nation up for disaster on the 21st of January, 2009. Am I that paranoid? Look at our five-year record...

Dennis Kucinich is considering drawing up impeachment charges against Vice President Dick Cheney. Couldn't happen to a more deserving person, but our fine Congressman from the fine state of Ohio needs to remember that this could come back to hurt the Democrats in a year and a half. Besides, don't we really wish to just sweep the current administration under the rug and pay more attention to the marathon horse race that the 2008 campaign is becoming? Who would think of such a plan? Let's have all the candidates throw down early, raise hundreds of millions of dollars, ratchet up cynicism and fatigue among voters who see what elections are really about, ignore current problems and allow the status quo to cement itself for another eighteen months. Rove?

On the homefront, my wife continues to swell with babies and I'm betting that we won't make it to the end of the month. My son's thrilled. I'm scared. My wife's ready. Our minivan's packed.

Howard Sidious

I knew it! Are you all so blind? All of the hoopla about Imus truly is nothing more than one more step in Howard Stern's plot to take over all of American corporate media and punish us with his wisdom:

Sirius and XM merge...
FCC cracking down on "pirate"- and small bandwidth radio stations...
the big smear campaign against Cooper Anderson's sexuality...
the blasts against Katie Curic and her plummeting ratings...
Imus being fired...
Sanjaya winning (or coming yet one more step closer) American Idol. Ratings are down ten percent from last year and Simon Cowell has publicly claimed he will quit if S. wins.

See? It's that easy. Who's left?

I'm such a bad father. I'm writing this at 7:20 in the morning still in my pj's on the couch on a workday morning. I read the paper for forty minutes, made coffee, put the radio on and already listened to an Allman Brothers record. Should I be enjoying myself?

Nappy Headed Ho

teliers, is what I think he meant to say. He just didn't speak into the mic. What's the worst of this? The sexism? The racism? The mountain or the molehill?

Anyway, family stuff tonight. I woke up and my wife told me to prepare lesson plans because she believed her water was breaking. False alarm. Doctors say our son is in the process of moving "vertex", which, in layman's terms, is head straight into the crotch. Yucky but important if one wishes to not see babies enter the world Julius-style. We're both a bid sad and quite bored; our son is having a sleepover, his first. He's at his auntie and uncle's house in El Cerrito. While we've had a single night away from him in the past, this one's really weird to be separated. His little presence is absent and the house is quiet. Why I'm not in bed enjoing extra rest is beyond me, too. I hope that my in-laws are sleeping well tonight!

I wonder just how many e-mails have been "lost" by the Justice Department that had anything to do with the firings of eight D.A's who weren't "Republican" enough. While this is simply a political smear and scandal, it's finally fun to experience a little schadenfreude.

Damn...

Here:

Where have I been the last several days? Swamped with school, preparing my family for the babies, trying to keep my wife happy and rested, taxes and whatever else has been thrown my way. We had a pre-term labor scare on Easter which more or less turned into a drill to the hospital for us. Everything's fine but WOW!

I can't remember what I've recently posted on. Did I already pick up In A Silent Way? What a mellow but beautiful album. Throwback to college and my introduction to Miles. This album and Bitches Brew, right upon Miles' death in September 1991. That's how I discovered Miles. These two scummy, non-academic students, my dorm next door neighbors, Paul and Bob. I thank Bob for introducing me to some amazing music, including the Allman Brothers Band, but man, this guy sure wasn't a good guy. Anyway...
Stax Records' 50th Anniversary this year!!! A resurrection of sorts as Concord has purchased the label and decided to start things back up. The box celebrating the amazing output of the Memphis label is just stellar. Worth picking up, especially online for only $12. What else? John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things", Jesse Malin's "Glitter In the Gutter" (I think I need to talk about this later) and three nights of the Allman Brothers Band's Beacon run. Holy cow. Great music!

Not talking politics, except that my Congressman came to my school last week. Chris, how do I post pictures? I have some good ones!

New Bruce!

For some, the announcement today that Bruce is releasing a live album of his most recent tour is a good thing. For others, it's a drag. And yet others, it's a non-event. Of course I'll buy it but will do so with reservations as I already listen to the heck out of the Seeger Sessions. The live album has been cherry-picked from late-date shows in Ireland where the reviews scorched. I have to admit that with the added musicians and live setting, the new album totally cooked. The "covers" stood just as strong as his own material. A couple of new songs will also be included, a good teaser for the supposed E Street album later this year. Now whether that comes around or not, I'm already saving my pennies. The tour would soon follow...

Speaking of tours, it does look like the Allman Brothers Band just may grace us with their presence sometime in early September. That would be a treat, considering it will have made two and a half years since the previous show. I am currently listening to three shows from their ongoing Beacon run and they're awesome. The 3/22 show is absolutely brilliant; I haven't thrown in the 3/23. The 3/24 has some great moments, including a complete Dazed and Confused in the middle of Mountain Jam but for the most part, the night is tired and plodding. Many errors on Gregg's part and slow tempos. While I've never seen even a "good" show ("good" being unremarkable), this one seems to need some tightening down. The setlists continue to amaze. Opening with "In A Silent Way"? Incredible.

Politics being what they are right now, I am excited to say that tomorrow, my congressman, Jerry McNerney, is coming to my high school to speak to juniors and seniors in social science courses. Without bragging, what's cool is that I'm directly responsible for this happening. I think I posted once that I met him through my father but as his communications director and I talked, I stated that I taught. As he and the party expressed interest in addressing students, I didn't think that something like this could be squeezed into the congressman's schedule. Lo and behold, through a series of e-mails and telephone calls (all from his offices), McNerney will walk onto my campus! I'm also excited to see that approximately 200 students will be there to hear him. What happens, who knows, but I'm thrilled to see even the slightest amount of politics and democracy come my way and our way. The fact that I'm in support of his politics doesn't hurt. The fact that I've even pursued this visit instead of inviting our previous congressman does reveal a bit of my politics. Then again, anyone calling me in a derogatory fashion an "enviro" doesn't deserve my respect.

Alberto? Not doing well.
Mitt? Who knew on the fund raising? Let's see him pass the all-important James Dobson test. The fact that Dobson's name holds importance in this country is a sad commentary.
Fred Thompson? Here comes another actor!
Tommy Thompson? Will Bush announce him as former Secretary of Health and Human Development again? No chance
McCain? Sinking quickly.
Barack and Hillary. Are they what we need? Really?
The electoral college. As about as democratic and reflective of people's wishes as Iraq's current form of government. At least the tuition is low.

Welcome back, hermano. Now get to work!!!!