“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” - Albert Schweitzer

Changes are brewing and the wind's a blowing. Oh me and my tempestuous life! Again, I'll try and keep the more personal details to a more philosophically leaning post. Sufficed to say, I'm super busy and massive wonderful things are happening swiftly as they always seem want to do. Since I'm tight on time, this weeks review will have to be an exercise in brevity. In the great tradition of dropping out of college to live in a van with your best friends and take your music on the road, Midi & The Modern Dance have set out on a wing and a prayer. These affable troupe of boys from Connecticut are currently touring the east coast, and are eager for your ears. Their music is original, featuring some compelling rockouts on a collection of beautiful instruments including an accordion. Singer Omeed Goodarzi has a surprisingly mature mastery of vocal intonation that reminds me of Morrissey. Their new full-length, Make It Easy On Yourself is available for download on their Ba...

For someone who reveres John Muir and Ansel Adams as much as I do, I certainly took my time getting to Yosemite National Park. This summer I finally made my pilgrimage, and though the trails were dusty and crowded, I did manage to find a few moments of transcendental glory. When you exert every fiber of your being to reach a point, and then sit still with nature for awhile, when waterfalls make rainbows arch the valley, and clouds make shadow play on the face of mountains, you understand the inspiration of great humans like Muir and Adams. To pay homage to Adams' work, I decided to do this series in black and white with a little extra contrast. "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." - John Muir "To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things." - Ansel Ada...

27 To be in any form, what is that? (Round and round we go, all of us, and ever come back thither,) If nothing lay more develop'd the quahog in its callous shell were enough. Mine is no callous shell, I have instant conductors all over me whether I pass or stop, They seize every object and lead it harmlessly through me. I merely stir, press, feel with my fingers, and am happy, To touch my person to some one else's is about as much as I can stand. From Song Of Myself (1860) by Walt Whitman I'm Not Your Boyfriend (Please Don't Touch Me) by Gorillas On Drums

Sorry for skipping the usual Tuesday Is For Tunes update last week, dear readers. My life has changed drastically for the better since I founded this fine interweb publication, but one of the few unfortunate consequences has been limited time for updates. Sometimes maintaining a website has to take a back seat to maintaining my lovely, busy, crazy, intense, real life. There will be more on that subject in a future Philosophy post. For now, I give you three, count 'em: three, new noise-makers that all remind me of my favorite quote from Lester Bangs. Because noise can have meaning, and sometimes seemingly meaningless noise has the most meaning, and sometimes distortion isn't just the means, but the ends, here are some bands Mister Bangs may have appreciated. "Because properly conceived and handled noise is not noise at all, but music whose textures just happen to be a little thicker and more involved than usual, so that you may not hear much but obscurity the first time, bu...

September may have dabbled in indian summer days, but now that October has arrived and Halloween plans are a brewing, it's safe to say it's autumn. The air has a crisp bite, the sun sets soon after dinner, I bought mulling spices, and my friends are organizing a trip to the local farm for pumpkins. I love this season so much I felt compelled to put together an autumn playlist, songs for baking apple pies, knitting scarves, big cups of tea, and taking naps with my cat in slanted sunbeams. 1. Concerto No. 3 in F major, Autumn - Antonio Vivaldi 2. Autumn Leaves - Nat King Cole 3. Autumn In New York - Billie Holiday 4. Autumn Song - Windsor For The Derby 5. Autumn Sweater - Yo La Tengo 6. Autumn Rules - Kokayi 7. September - Earth, Wind & Fire 8. Pale September - Fiona Apple 9. September Came - Magenta Lane 10. Old September Blues - My Morning Jacket 11. October Song - Incredible String Band 12. October Fires - Wolf People 13. October - Br...