Oscar Peterson: August 15, 1925 - December 23, 2007

Here's a snippet from an article about Peterson's life: Oscar Peterson

"Oscar Peterson, who sat atop
the world of jazz piano for decades with his driving two-handed
swing, technical wizardry and rapid-fire solos, has died, a
friend of the musician said on Monday. He was 82."

and


"Technique is something you use to make your ideas
listenable," he [Peterson] once told jazz writer Len Lyons. "You learn to
play the instrument so you have a musical vocabulary, and you
practice to get your technique to the point you need to express
yourself, depending on how heavy your ideas are."

Peterson's web site:http://oscarpeterson.com

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singing wthout words

Jeff Beck, "Cause We Ended As Lovers."

I first heard this live in a darkened warehouse around the midnight hour. I must have been 17 or so. The two Michaels (Samman and Jensen) plugged in their guitars and serenaded me. There may or may not have been some weed involved. I'm not at liberty to say.

So to recapture that moment in time with me, slap on your headphones and close your eyes (or turn out the lights) and listen.

I feel at this very second that my emotions are once again captured musically.

It's been that way my whole life.

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Probably go mad all by myself...

Ah, Chris Whitley... tellin' it like it is.

So it's 12:07 pm and I'm sitting here hoping my mom doesn't come downstairs to find out why I'm still up. I don't want anymore mothering today. I'm all caught up. I'm certainly old enough to stay up as late as I please.

On a related side note: Would SOMEONE please send me a laptop for Christmas? It should have wireless capabilities and have a decent amount of memory. With this laptop, I will be able to write to you, dear reader, any old time - early, late and in-between. Fearlessly.

Sad, isn't it? I am begging people I might not even know to send me a damn laptop. (But just do it, okay?)

Things are going okay. I had a pleasant time shopping after work. Some presents for the above-mentioned mom, a few things for the spouse and a friend. Nothing -nothing!- for me. Hmph! It's okay... I have more than I need. I actually really do like gift giving. (I really like the part where I get to make packages pretty.)

Here's another tune:




One of you will call me cheesy. I care not: I am cheesy.
Anyway, I have continued to be cheery, singing Christmas carols, decorating the office and my home, either completely sucking it all in and maintaining a shiny pocket of denial or maybe being genuinely cheery.

Does it matter which, really?

Of course it matters. Truly, I think it's a combination. An emotional value-pack, super-sized. Yeah, yeah. Bite-sized denial with a cheery dipping sauce. Yum.

I leave you with Nick Drake. He brings out my melancholy...

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nothing music cannot cure

Or maybe not.
Being pulled in two directions.
Like living with two 6-year olds.
Exhausted in every way.

Maintaining sunny optimism.

I don't remember that I've always been this way, but maybe I have. Have I always looked on the sunny side?

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Holy water, batman!

Okay, so the headline is lame. But what about companies selling bottled holy water... holy drinking water? Thanks to Unca Bwuce in Amsterdam (his full, Christian name, of course), I've just learned about this phenomenon.

My favorite is, of course, "Formula J," as seen here

You can read all about it here.

A few snippets from the article by Lisa Miller:

"Holy Drinking Water, produced by a California-based
company called Wayne Enterprises, is blessed in the warehouse by an
Anglican or Roman Catholic priest (after a thorough background check).
Like a crucifix or a rosary, a bottle of Holy Drinking Water is a daily
reminder to be kind to others, says Brian Germann, Wayne's CEO."

Franciscan nuns have launched a letter-writing campaign to put the damper on this crazy industry, "Water is life," says Sister Mary Zirbes, a nun in the Franciscan
Sisters of Little Falls, Minn. "It really should not be a commodity to
be bought."

Amen, sister. Amen.

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leavin' on a jet plane...

We're going on a short trip tomorrow. Mom and the girls will be guarding the house. I'm headed for sunshine and some ocean time... yay. I'd sound more excited if I wasn't so worried about the state of affairs here.

There was a nose-to-nose argument between the spouse and mother the other night. It was loud and horrid, each yelling at the other. I was paralyzed... cannot deal with that loudness and anger. It frightens me in a deep place... cannot describe it exactly but I have never been able to deal with that sort of thing well.

However... I plan to relax, frolic and eat some fishes. Swim fast, fishes, I'm a-comin'!

May not be able to post while I'm away, so until next time...

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