Overheard NYC

On Christmas:

"It's a f#@$in' phenomenal holiday. The trees, the lights."

Performance, yay. Recital, nay.

Why do I go to concerts? Why do I shell out money that would otherwise be used for wine, travel and food (or, in dire circumstances, bills) to stand around in a room full of sweaty obnoxious people and listen to music I already own on CD?

The answer is: I don't. At least, not on purpose. I do go to concerts, but not to listen to the music I have on CD. I go for the performance. I go to hear a bluegrass cover of "Father Figure"(ala "Girlyman.") Or to experience the energy as a charismatic guitarist rockets into the audience to be surrounded by screaming fans as he blasts through a song(recent example: Butch Walker). Or even, to stand in stunned awe as a plucky Australian manages to silence a packed New York City concert hall for a completely acoustic second encore(Ben Lee, I am still in awe, I've never seen anybody get that many people -especially New Yorkers - to be that quiet).

In short, I go for a performance, I want riffs, and interaction with the audience and weird covers and drama and, basically, something different. My daily life already has too much of the mundane and ordinary, give me something I can only experience once. Don't recite your music, perform it.

And that's how you'll keep getting my money.

Red Wine and Rasberry Bellinis

Have you ever heard the expression, "the room looks like someone threw-up the color pink?"

Tradition

This past Saturday Ohio State University (technically, The Ohio State University) beat Michigan in the annual meeting thought by many to be the greatest rivalry in sports.

I am not a huge sports fan, but even I watch the yearly contest between my beloved Buckeyes and the team up north. Why? Tradition.

Later that evening, my wife and I served up a full Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings for our friends. I typically draw short straw and work on Thanksgiving Day, so I enjoy the chance to get a holiday meal and spend time with people we care about. This, over the past three years, has also become a tradition.

There's a strange comfort in certain traditions. They're practices that bring you closer to others, make you feel a part of something.

It's almost the Holiday time for normal people - retail people have been doing the Holiday thing for several months now. A time full of traditions old and new. And a time to feel close to others. Goodwill to man and all that.

For some, the traditions are a way to celebrate history. For others, they merely provide a means to remain sane through this season. Of course, sometimes they're just an excuse to do something you secretly enjoy but find immensely embarassing (Why do you wear that Reindeer jacket every December 17? Answer given: Oh, it's this silly tradition my father started. Real Answer: I like swinging the antlers about. it's fun.)

Perhaps I should start a new tradition, posts that actually have a point.

Youth is wasted

Recently at work, we were discussing the death of a 16-year-old. The kid died in a manner which is not all that unusual. Typically, we'll talk about the death - a hazard of the industry I'm involved in - and move on. For some reason, this death seemed to touch peole a little more.

Why? Why do people value the death of a child more highly than the death of an adult?

Why do we as a society value our children so much, even above ourselves? What makes a child's life inherently more valuable than an adults? The adult has affected so many more lives and will leave a much bigger hole in the community, but it's the child who is the catalyst for new laws. The adult is less of a drain on society. The adult is already contributing - as opposed to just having the potential to contribute.

For once, I don't have a theory. I don't even have an opinion. Should the children be valued? Or is this some anachronistic instinct from ancient times? I don't know, though I have a feeling a parent would have a quick answer, but I think they're biased.

Okay, I'm in some sort of serious mood today. I think I'll try not to post anymore boring or serious topics for now. More when I lighten up.

...until there is.

In my last post, I stated there can't be only one. Well, that's only true to a certain extent.

I may get a little mushy in this post, so I advise you to skip over to Google news if you've just eaten lunch.

The concept of "The One" is silly. There are billions of people, and chances are you could be perfectly happy with several (though I do not reccomend trying to be happy with several simultaneously). However, when you find one your happy with, and who is also happy with you, keep her. S/he is the one.

don't expect it to happen instantly - this is not a movie, you have more than 90 minutes to get the girl. Don't assume you'll know for sure from the start. But if you find someone, make her the one. The one you will spend the rest of your life with. The one you will go on walks with and take to romantic dinners. The one you will wake up next to and fall asleep next to and generally see more of than you ever thought you could stand.

This is the person who will become a part of you to the point where plus one no longer applies. This is the one that you will be one with.

This is a dreadful post, sorry. I'm just saying that there isn't a one until you make your own. And when that happens, you don't care about anyone else.

There can't be only one...

"Love, true love. Love is what brings us together today."

If I believe what the movies and TV and books tell me, there was supposed to be that one magical person out there and when we met there should have been birds or cheesy music or stars or something. Instant recognition that the universe may know what it's doing after all. If I believe womans's magazines, Oprah and my wive's bitter divorcé friend, men are scum and love is a myth. If I beleive those articles that certain magazines carry solely to give us something to say when said magazines are discovered beneath the mattress, I'll deliver a pizza one day and have really hot sex with a bitter divorcé who no longer beleives in love.

These are conflicting messages. So let's ignore them.

Instead, how about the concept of "The One"? There's something a little excusist about the concept.

Can't find a mate? "I'm still looking for the one."

Bad marriage? "He/she just wasn't The One."

Going through men/women about as often as a carton of milk? "I'm just having fun until I meet The One."

It's all an excuse. You can put life on hold, lay the blame for all your failings and probably explain bad credit by claiming that you have yet to find that elusive One.

There's a reason why "The One" is so prevalent in the realm of fantasy (The One Ring, The Chosen One, The One Who Live, Highlander), the concept is purely fantasy. How is it even conceivable that out of billions of people, only one will work?

Quit putting off life, liberty and the pursuit of sex in a futile search for a mystical creature that you probably wouldn't recognize anyway. Go out and make mistakes with the "wrong ones." Fall in love, fall off of it and look for another love to fall with. Live life, love life, etc.

Don't think about it as there being only one. think about it is as there being at least one.

If I Had $300 Million dollars...

Those living in the Mega Millions states may be aware that there's a lot of money to be won tonight. somewhere around $311 million dollars.

I have a very detailed plan which covers what the money will be spent on when I win. I'm not sure if this kind of daydreaming is healthy or not, but it sure is fun.

And that leads me to today's question. Everyone has at least a vague idea what they would do if they won the big jackpot. What I want to know is, what would you do if you won first prize (about $200,000)? Is that life changing,or just life-easing?

Under New Management

Like the corporate world, when its time to reinvent, I merely change the name on the door. In this case, I've dropped the alias and gone for me. So, originally this blog was started by a character I was writing a book about. He needed to be more human, so I started a blog to see how he would react to the world. Unfortuantely, I was reacting and the character became more and more like me.

So, I quit blogging and finished the book. Someday, I'll finish typing it into the computer and try to get it published.

For now, however, I've put my name on this and decided to keep it as my blog: a new name, a new look, same old blambles.

The blogs prior to this are a mixture of my thoughts and what I thought Phil would think. Now, it's all me.

What will I blog about now? Theories, observations, questions I wish to send out to the universe.

I can't promise it will be good. I can't promise it will be succinct. I can't promise much of anything at all. I can tell you that I'm pretty darn twisted some times, bizzarre other times, and the only time I'm not thinking about something is when I'm dreaming about another thing.

So, this is mine now. Enjoy.