Thanks is Not Enough

To say there's a lot to be thankful for this year would be an incredible understatement. In addition to all things I've always tried to remain thankful for; health, family, love, and friendship, I have the most wonderful baby daughter to be thankful for. But thankful is not really a strong enough word to express how lucky I feel. They always say that you can't know the joy of having a child until you have one, and I suppose that's right. You can also never understand the responsibility that comes with it until you have one. It changes your life to be sure, but changes it for the better, and for that, I'm thankful.

Oh, To Feeling Thankful...

Last year on this day, I wrote about how I'd grown to find joy in unexpected things and how I was determined to find something positive even when things seemed bleak. A lot has changed over the past twelve months. Life seems to be moving in a positive direction, and I attribute some of that to my positive perspective. I've come to trust in things working out. That's not to say that I've stopped working towards desired outcomes, but I no longer worry about things that are out of my control. And though there are things I'd want to change in the world, I am truly thankful for the things I do have. As my amazing wife and I get ready to begin the next phase of our lives with our expected baby daughter, there is an awful lot for me to feel thankful for, not just on this one day of the year, but on every day going forward.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Feeling Thankful

This Thanksgiving has taken on a different meaning for me this year. The importance of this day is not always what it seems. It's not about ritual traditions or the family dinners. It's not even really a celebration as much as it's a time for reflection. It's about finding something within you to be thankful for even when, on the outside, it may appear there is little to rejoice. Lately I've come to a new perspective on life, finding joy in unexpected places and allowing it to carry me through whatever darkness may linger. I hope everyone takes the time to find moments to appreciate and let them light the way.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thankful

Lately I find that I'm more thankful for the little things. We spend so much time anticipating the big moments that we let the small ones pass us by. We take for granted the comforts that truly make up our lives and are often responsible for creating joy when it happens. I've been trying to appreciate those elements a little more these days. In the process, I've found that I am thankful for more than I ever realized.

Weekend Music Roundup (Homecoming Edition)

I'm back home in front of the fire, watching the Birds, fresh from a visit to the town I grew up in. One thing I love about Thanksgiving is how it has become a memory weekend as each one goes by. Part of that for me is listening to music that has been familiar to me for ages. Over the past few weeks, I found myself listening to a handful of albums that my interest in them dates back to Middle School and High School. In keeping with the spirit of the holiday, it seemed like a nice idea to share those today.

Guns N' Roses - Stoned in L.A.: This is a bootleg that I'd been searching for on and off for the last decade or so. This is one of the more famous GNR concerts and ranks up there with the riots, Rock in Rio, and the unfortunate Monsters of Rock festival in GNR Live lore. One of only two shows the band played in 1989, they opened for The Rolling Stones at the Coliseum. It was supposed to be their ultimate homecoming, returning to their hometown, the biggest rock band in the world. Instead the press focused on the lyrics of "One in a Million" from the just released GNR Lies. Axl gives a three minute rant on the subject that is right-on, then the band goes into blistering "Outta Get Me". An amazing show that I doubt the Stones were able to top.

Pink Floyd - My Uncle is Sick Because the Highway is Green: This bootleg collects a series of BBC studio recordings from a newly post-Syd Barrett Floyd. It features a couple of songs from Saucerful of Secrets and one of my favorite, and rarely performed songs, "Julia Dream". The early version of "Careful With that Axe Eugine" when it was still called "Murderistic Woman" is also pretty great. This has always been my favorite era Pink Floyd, along with perfect sound quality, makes this a must-have Floyd bootleg.

Sex Pistols - Kill the Hippies: This bootleg captures the band's Atlanta show during the ill-fated and ill-advised US Tour that destroyed the band. It's interesting to hear Johnny Rotten taunting the audience who have showed up simply to gawk at the band. The band sounds surprisingly sharp. Unfortunately the recording quality isn't great. Still a fun concert though and recommended for fans.

A Walk In Alice's Garden - Compilation: This collection of late '60s British psychedelic rarities fits this weekend's theme twofold. Not only was I super into these kinds of "See Emily Play" type of song, but my Alice fascination was also born then. Of course, Alice has nothing to do with this except that a lot of this genre of music was inspired Alice and other Victorian children's stories. There's some great gems on here (many of which I reviews on the Singles Edition of the roundup two weeks ago). I'm not usually a fan of compilations because they are uneven by nature, but this is consistent throughout and worth a listen.

Lungfish - The Unanimous Hour: Since buying their first album when I was 14 years old, I bought the next five Lungfish albums as they came out. Each one, while good, seemed to stagnate and by the time this came out in 1999, there was too much competing for my music cash. Recently, I found myself wanting to explore the four albums that I missed. I started with this, the first. Naturally, it's the band's best effort in three albums and this should have been the one I bought. There's a reborn intensity to their post-hardcore spiritual sound. Driving beats and howling Ginsburg vocals make this one of their best. I can't wait to hear the next three.

Whitesnake - Ready an' Willing: This is one of those bands that I've never had any respect for, but in the past few years, I've learned that a lot of those bands that I'd never had any respect for turned out to be pretty good. After reading some good things about this band's early work, I put aside my formative years' prejudice toward what I thought was a cartoon band and gave this 1980 album a listen. Still closer to the members' former bands' 70's roots, this is a solid bluesy hard rock album. Nothing spectacular, but certainly worthy of hearing.

Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On the Edge of Town & The Promise: Growing up as child in New Jersey during the '90s, the Boss was unavoidable no matter how hard I may have tried. I've never taken to his music, though I do find Born to Run bearable. Over the past two weeks, building up to this re-release deluxe edition of his 1978 classic, I've been reading a lot about this album. I decided to give it a try. The original album is probably the best I've heard from Bruce. He was being influenced by the NYC punk scene as well as Buddy Holly. The mixture works nicely and there's some beautiful songs. There are still some songs though that irk me. The Promise album collects two albums worth of tracks left off of the album. It's way too many tracks, many of which were left off for good reason, but still there are a few amazing gems like his version of "Because the Night." There's more heartache and despair than I've heard in his music before. I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Feeling Thankful for Arthur Rackham

I'll be away for the next few days celebrating all the things to be thankful for. In that spirit, I share with you some illustrations by Arthur Rackham. He is truly the master of the craft.

Oh, Thanks

In the spirit of the weekend, I thought I'd give thanks to my own newest main character. We got off to a bit of shaky start. I'm not sure she trusted me completely until after I lived in her skin for many and many now deleted scenes. 

Much like the other characters in the books, I was growing rather frustrated with her. 

The other day, she decided to trust me. For the last few days, she's begun to speak to me clearly and without hesitation. I just wanted to say, I'm thankful we are now friends.

Now...not to be greedy...but if a good title presented itself, I wouldn't complain.