Sus J

Suspend: to defer or delay.
Judgement: an opinion or conclusion.

I’ve talked about Sus-J (suspended judgement) before in a few posts, but I want to expand on what exactly it means to me in terms of creativity.  I was first introduced to the idea by my old music composition/theory prof. Gordon Nicholson.  In class one day, he wrote in huge letters ‘Sus-J’ in the corner of the room where we would always see it.  It served as a reminder when we would be writing, and that reminder was of course to refrain from being judgmental when it comes to the creative process as it worked among us.

We all would go about creating in different ways, but what was important was to not let our own doubts, fears, internal conflicts etc., about our tasks get in the way of actually doing what it was we wanted to do.  You had to learn to free yourself from these internal/external processes that impeded your creativity …if you couldn’t, things would be tempered or tainted, and the result is an incomplete representation of who you are as a person creatively.

I’ve always struggled with doubt …and it’s helpful to remind myself once in a while that I need to let go of those nagging questions ….stuff like “What if no one likes it?”  What if this idea is completely pointless?”  What if I get in trouble somehow?”  “What if someone sees what it is I see?”  “What if I’ve put too much of myself out on display?” “What if this is wrong?” etc…  When these types of questions get in the way, you end up second-guessing yourself …and creativity takes the hit.  And so, I’ve decided (again) to put the ’sus-j’ mark in a prominent place on my blog to remind myself to …well, essentially just be myself!

That’s about the short of it.

And so, aside from the nifty new header, I’ll be making a few other changes that I’ve been putting off for quite some time.  So if something seems weird or out of place for some reason, try back a little later and things should be good.  If they’re not, call the blog cops.  Knowing them though, they’ll probably be at the local cyberspace donut shop.  Eating tim-’bits’ I suppose.  Get it …bits?  Like digital bits? …but still like ‘timbits‘.  Anyone?  Anyone???

Bueller?

Huw Manuscript

My buddy Ceej (aka Ceri Jones) did a little harp thingy today.

He’s been somewhat serious about it for a few years now, and I remember when he first picked it up I kinda had to chuckle …”Are you serious?”  But he was.  Still is.  His concert this afternoon was at the Moravian Church here in Edmonton as part of the Church’s bi-weekly music presentations.  He’s Welsh …and the music he preformed was traditional material from something called the Huw Manuscript, one of the earliest Welsh manuscripts dating around the 1600’s.  The music itself up to 300 years earlier!

He played a few different harps, including one he made himself (pre-fab …lol) and even sang …and pretty good too.  He’s got somewhat of a Paul Simon sounding voice, at least that’s the sound I heard when he crooned over a few of the pieces – in Welsh none the less.  It was actually quite pleasant …hearing sounds that you wouldn’t normally hear – stuff that’s been done hundreds of years ago.  I’m not a big ‘tradition’ person, but I can appreciate its appeal when it comes to music, and and of course to history and language as well.  If no one bothers to ‘pass the torch’ you end up missing, or even worse – losing, part of history …and sometimes it’s a good history!  The way modern society is haphazardly pushing ahead at times, perhaps tradition isn’t as over-rated as I often feel it is.

I’ll give it 4.5 ‘Tom Jones’ out of 5.  I think I’m gonna dance now…

John Ceri Jones

void

void:
an
emptiness
without
even
the
notion
of
itself.

luck:
a
void.

Just want to mention that Poetry Daily has a ‘new poem’ feature that gives you, every day, a sampling  of current and modern works.  The styles vary from poem to poem as well as authors and content …so if you find yourself ever stumped for ideas or perhaps just want to check out what’s going on around the world, pay it a visit.  I’ve got it bookmarked.

...from Poetry Daily

opinions and tweets

I mentioned that I don’t have a cell phone before …right?

I don’t.  First off, I don’t have enough friends/family that I need to stay in touch with so badly, secondly I hate talking on the phone …and this I know I’ve mentioned before.  Having no cell also negates the use of twitter.  So having said that, you should realize that the following rant is almost baseless from personal experience.  I have friends who ‘tweet’, but that’s about it.

I happen to think there’s a place for it in our lives, but at the same time I think it depends on an individual’s comfort zone of sorts.  If you enjoy the connectedness and use it in productive ways then that’s great.  If you could care less about ‘non-human’ contact and conduct your business the old fashioned way then that’s equally great.  It’s a personal choice, and whatever works for you is obviously what works for you.  Certainly you have to remain open to new technologies as they come around …or at the very least keep up-to-date with them.  Not doing this places you in the back seat as far as voicing your opinion on matters.  No one wants to hear how bad something is …coming from someone who hasn’t had any first hand experience in that area, ditto for hearing how great something is from someone who has no clue as to what they’re talking about.  (the latter is always too evident in clubs when people come up to congratulate you on a performance.  you’ll take it …but consider the drunken source!)

It’s common sense, but at the same time you have to keep some balance when taking anyone’s opinion.  Is that person completely insane and without merit all the time – or do they offer glimpses of important things often enough to grab your attention?  Are they a nut case – or are they quite rational but simply removed from the situation you’re discussing?  Forming opinions like these take time as well.  You can’t judge so quickly as to not give that person his/her fair shake …you also have to resist the urge to categorize them based on the groups you just happen to use in your life.  After all, it could be you who’s missing part of the picture as well?  Trusting an opinion means trusting the person offering that opinion …and why would you put yourself in a position of trusting someone you hardly know?

So I’m not sure what the stimulus behind this post is exactly, but lets just say that a few things happened to get stuck in my head lately …and this is (was) the best way for me to express them.  And that’s about it

Speaking of opinion, here’s one on the whole twitter experience…

cold ’snapped’

It seems everyone here in Canada is upset about the comments from Fox’s Red Eye hosts the other night.  Too bad.  Perhaps it’s the case that this winter’s been sooooo long that we’ve lost our sense of humor?  In the host’s apology he goes on to state …”Red Eye is a satirical take on the news, in which all topics are addressed in a lighthearted, humorous and ridiculous manner.”

The key word here is ’satirical’ kids.  That means there’s a humorous exaggeration on current news topics of interest.  Is it bad timing …sure, but that’s no reason to get all excited about things.  Heck, spring is almost here.  Relax a little.

Or perhaps we should have our own Rick Mercer apologize for making fun of Americans?

Mr. and Mrs…

It’s almost 4 am and I think I’m tired.

I bought one of those ‘form fitting‘ pillows the other day and had an okay sleep with it last night.  Just okay though, nothing greater.  The problem is I can’t roll that thing into a ball or anything …it just sits there, and I stick my head on it.  Maybe I’ll experiment a bit tonight.

AR did the Azucar thing this Friday and Saturday, and it seems the band is about to venture into another phase of sorts.  The majority wasn’t enamored with the minority (who happened to be a group of one) and as a result will be departing momentarily …I think.  Not only will losing that minority be a different turn, but the Hefe has his mind set on some new material of the ‘latin rock’ persuasion.  So there’ll be some changes in Dodge in the near future.  For better or worse?  Hummm, that’s a matter of perspective I think.  The group’s been around for 20 years so …business as usual I’m sure.

El Hefe

I did the work thing at work today too …which was a Saturday so it wasn’t quite the norm for me.  I fixed some broken stuff, ‘comped’ Jeremy a bone-bottle, listened to ‘Eat that Chicken‘ and refreshed my memory on the finer points of public relations.  It was a fun 6 hours, and a little change of pace is always good.

I also partook in the blessed nuptials of two buddies of mine, Audrey and Don …sometimes known as ‘the Daudry’.  I missed the service (as I was cleaning spit out of horns) but the three hours of reception that I caught were fine enough.  No one cried during the speeches (I think) but I’d have to give the main prize to Bf for hers.  It was very nice, and I know she’s happy with Don’s choice.  Erin had a neat shoe-gag that was pretty good …I hadn’t seen it before (not that I get see a lot of weddings mind you) but you get the bride and groom to remove their shoes, each person takes one of their own and one of their partners in hand and then they stand back to back.  While like this, one of the bridal party asks them some silly but revealing questions …and they respond by raising their own shoe (if they think the answer is them) or their partners shoe (if they think it’s their partner) …so when you ask something like “Who’s the better driver?” and then each person raises their hand to indicate the opposite one, then that’s funny.  Lol, get it?  It’s obviously harder to explain than it is to watch …but trust me, it was funny.

So yeah, I wish them my best.  It seems I had told Audrey that I didn’t see their relationship lasting very long (I’m so forward sometimes!) …and that was 4 or 5 years ago – so much for my hunches.  Truth be told though, it seems like they’re made for each other.  So congratulations kids …and I’ll go on record to say “I don’t think it’ll really last” ….which means they’ll probably be together till they’re old and haggard and I’ve died off to some new form of spit-valve cancer.

Lucky me.

safety and stuff

I can’t watch the AIG fiasco anymore ….not because it’s unimportant, but because it’s turned itself into a political circus with each politician painfully trying to out-do the next in condemnation of the whole affair.  This is why I’m so disinterested in politics in the first place.  We at home here are of course following suit by denouncing our own ‘bonuses’ …it must be all the rage

In other stupid news, Natasha Richardson died from a head injury incurred while skiing in Quebec.  It’s not her death that’s stupid (that part’s tragic and simply horrible – to walk away after a head injury, talking, and then end up dead a few days later …I’d feel for anyone who would have that happen to someone they know) but rather the idea that, all of a sudden, helmets are being proposed as mandatory equipment for casual skiers.  I don’t get that.  It’s a knee-jerk reaction to a remote occurrence.  What people don’t understand is that people do stupid and unsafe things because they like it!  You drive yourself up a mountain and then ski down it …sliding down snow and ice on two thin pieces of plastic that enable you to reach faster and faster speeds!

The thing is, we’ve turned a crazy and life-threatening endeavor into something as benign as a walk in the park …and it certainly feels like that at times.  We’re at ease while doing it, and when something as common as someone landing on their head (she was on a bunny hill and the ambulance was turned away) and then dying a few days later occurs, we then decide to somehow make the entire preoccupation safer.  Lol …you’re not going to make it much safer.  That’s the part that makes me laugh …the fact that her head injury could have happened pretty much anywhere …including walking on a sidewalk with a lovely row of flowers by a lovely park while tripping/falling over her own two feet.  Should we wear helmets then?  Maybe we should wear them when we cross a roadway where people eat/talk on cell-phones and command 1000 plus pound vehicles at their own discretion?  No, of course we don’t legislate helmets for these type of activities because we know that sometimes accidents happen, but in the same breath people clamor that we should wear them on a low-risk ski-hill …where the risk can be the same. *I mention ‘low-risk’ here to differentiate between competitive/aggressive skiing*

There’s safe …and then there’s safe to the point of stupidity.  Safe is using common sense and wearing a helmet when you understand your limits and realize that you may potentially crash/fall.  Safe to the point of stupidity is when people try to protect people from remote happenings that in all probability, could happen doing anything anywhere on the planet, but because a specific event/casualty is deemed important, it’s given way too much attention and results in the creation of rules that on the surface aim at protecting regular people but in essence over-compensate and unintentionally provide the new user with an inflated sense of safety that in turn allows them to challenge themselves in far riskier ways which ironically lead to even more incidents.

Life can be dangerous kids.  Accidents happen.  Use common sense.  Be careful.

AIG bonuses

Someone recently asked me what I thought about the AIG retention bonuses being paid in light of the company’s financial failure and recent government bailout package.

I didn’t think much.  Lol …not that I’m not interested in what happens in the big business/corporate world, but from where I sit, in my day to day living as a musical hack/inconsequential peon of the human race, it doesn’t affect me …that is, I’m not aware of how it affects me.  True, someone could fill me in on how AIG’s influence/decisions trickle down to lower level business that have stakes in what I do everyday …but that would mean I’d have to concern myself with more information than I could possibly handle, most likely tearing my focus away from what it is I enjoy with my non-financial/global economic life.  So why bother.  Isn’t that what we have business lawyers and financial planners/advisers for in the first place?

Ignorance is bliss in effect.  However, ignorance should not relieve you of forming an opinion based on your own common sense and values as they correspond to the the basic facts available to you.  After all, shouldn’t we endeavor to apply what life teaches us?  Isn’t that what we’re here for in the first place?

I think so.

So here’s my opinion for whatever it’s worth…

Senator Richard Shelby (R) offered this statement that caught my eye …”These people brought this on themselves.  Now you’re rewarding failure.  A lot of these people should be fired, not awarded bonuses.  This is horrible.  It’s outrageous.“  I like this because it’s to the point.  It’s an argument, albeit in simple form, that I can understand and relate to.  It appeals to my common sense …and I am ‘common’ after all …at least I like to think so.

What’s also interesting is that this exact, same logic probably should have been used in the governments’ initial decision to provide a bailout package in the first place!  You know, back in October 08′ – when the they decided on a 700 billion dollar bailout, then it was rejected, then it was increased and (miraculously!) better understood, and then it was passed.  This was the time when common sense logic as Richard Shelby’s should have been heeded.

But there wasn’t much thought like this around at the time.  (Shelby did, btw, oppose the bill)

So as far as I’m concerned, you really shouldn’t be shocked or outraged if retention bonuses are paid out.  And if you think this payment is fundamentally wrong …you’re probably right.  But in the same breath you did vote for the people who authorized that initial bailout in the first place …so, in a way, you’re somewhat to blame.  There’s really no sense in complaining about 100+ million when you passed up complaining about 800+ billion.  Unless you’re going to argue the case that governments don’t really represent the people?

Image(s) from ezonlinedocuments.com and FreeFoto.com

Jagerbombs etc…

Few things….

Why haven’t Levy and Guest (Best In Show, Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind etc.) teamed up to make a competitive scrapbooking movie yet? *you know it’d be great*

Why am I on POF again?  Do I have some secret longing that I continually repress?  *no need to answer this one*

Why didn’t I plan ahead for my upcoming 10 day break (spring break for schools here)?  Maybe I love this 5 month winter?  *rhetorical question of course …bad planning on the former*

KM played the other night and it was business as usual.  Why? -lol

After starting in on The Human Touch by Michael Frayn, is it possible for me to not be skeptical about everything so that I might actually enjoy reading something?

I think I need to rip coke, slurpees and other sugary beverages from my diet for at least a month.  *the key words of course are ‘I think’*

Finally, did you know that the Jagermeister symbol of the stag and the cross was taken from the St. Hubertus legend …which was appropriated from the story of St. Eustace.  It’s obvious these horn players are indifferent to the connection between religion and the Jagerbomb.  Pity.

King Muskafa's JC and Ali ...St. Jager watching over them.

Winter is…

Winter is Spring’s bedding,
cold and virgin white,
tickled by a glowing sun
whose elevation’s right.

Spring’s the hurried lover,
youthful – green in sight,
stealing Winter’s desperate tears
then vanishing by night.

Summer’s common senses
reign in Springtime’s flight,
held – reduced to one still breath
that stretches mid-day’s height.

Fall is Summer’s note-pad,
crisp and fresh to write,
colored ink for tracing dreams
that Winter will unite.