Of all the things...

Many things happened this weekend that are worth talking about. I will now talk about them.

On Friday I got the album Back to the Light by Brian May in the mail, and it is fantastic. I’m trying to think of my favorite track on it, but...it’s just so hard. Let’s go this route: My least favorite of the 13 is I’m Scared, but that’s not really saying much, because I like it too. It’s just a really awesome bunch of songs/music. May does the vocals and plays the great majority of the instruments for the album, with the late, great Cozy Powell on drums. He um, he wasn't dead when they recorded it...
Anyway, the album consists of ten songs and two instrumentals, all but one of which are May originals, with collaboration on music for three of them. The last song on the album is a bonus remix track. I'm still trying to decide on a favorite and it just doesn't seem to be happening. I don't think I can make that call.
All in all, unquestionably a great album. May is an absolute virtuoso. And also apparently Moses for a short while in his younger day...

On Saturday I helped re-pot and move a ten-foot tall fig tree. I also trimmed back the dead branches and twigs and helped clean off the dust and whatnot that had settled on the leaves. I learned some valuable things about how to keep trees alive indoors whilst in conversation with Ms. Kay, whom I was helping. I'm quite interested in plant biology and cultivation and I’ve wanted to grow a tree for some time now, so it was a very educational and interesting experience for me.

I also went to the 36th Annual Indiana Fiddlers’ Gathering over in Battle Ground on Saturday with some friends to hear some bluegrass/folk music, and it was quite a blast. An interesting sub-community to be sure. My favorite band consisted of three guys who played acoustic swing with a fiddle, a guitar, and a string bass. They were awesome. All three of them just real masters with their instruments, and I highly approved of the song style. They were Aaron Weinstein (violin), Frank Vignola (guitar), and Jim Cox (bass). Should you ever get a chance to hear them, I recommend it.

The sunset over the trees in the glen was gorgeous, and the weather great for such an occasion. For a bit, later in the night, it looked like it was about to rain, but then the clouds cleared and you could see the stars above the clearing, with the Big Dipper dead center. It was very nice.

By far though, the best part of Saturday was when The Foghorn Stringband (whom I didn’t really like that much) paused for a couple of seconds between songs during their set and some guy sitting a ways behind me yelled out “Freebird!!!” I smiled first, because of the setting, and then I laughed out loud when it suddenly struck me that this was a man that was not at all connected with SOG, Benji, or I, and he was yelling for Freebird at a bluegrass festival. Even if I had not enjoyed anything else about the evening, that pretty much just made the whole thing worth it.

Run for the hills...

I am extremely angry right at this moment. So much so that my stomach is aching. I ran across a link to an article on the Poles whilst going through the Yahoo nexus, and thinking that it would be a quick and interesting read, followed it. Unfortunately, I never got to reading the actual article. The first thing that came up was the title and short blurb for the article with another link to get to the body. Right below that were the comments that people had left. I read the first page of them before closing the whole thing in disgust and rage.
These types of comments can be neatly placed in four distinct categories. Ehem:
First you have the people who are intelligent enough to do a bit of research, know what they're talking about, and, *gasp*, actually give a rat's left buttock about what's going on in the world around them.
Then you have your folks who seem to want what's best, but don't really know what's going on. (aka They've watched a Michael Moore film, and that's all the research they need. Those would be the good-hearted "OMG! The polar bears are gonna die!" people.)
Thirdly are the people who are sceptical, which in and of itself is a good thing. Except that they don't follow up on that scepticism. They just sort of hang neutral, spreading their non-opinions around like slow-churned, low trans-fat, heart-healthy, butter substitute product, and basically just convoluting things as much as they can whenever possible.
And lastly (my absolute favorite in all the whole wide freakin' world!), there are the imbeciles that blatantly ignore facts, turn their backs on research, shun simple observation skills, and then go around preaching their strongly held, sarcasm laden, pseudo-scientific "findings" with all the determination of Al Sharpton at the annual CivCon! I'm talking about the type of person that would defend strip mining the Alaskan tundra with their life if they thought they heard Rush Limbaugh say that it would be a good idea one morning whilst they were driving to work in their Ford Expedition. It is these people that absolutely kill any faith in humanity that I happen to have picked up in between times!
I cannot stand willful ignorance, particularly when it is combined with arrogance. Of course, I guess when some people get an idea caught between the only two brain cells that they have floating around in their skulls, it can be kind of hard to knock it loose again.

*Primal scream* Use your brains, people!!!

... ... My stomach doesn't hurt anymore...

Desperation...

~ Churning, writhing,
destroying from the inside.
Is there no stopping it?
Killing me slowly, quietly,
like a horrid disease.
No cure for this one.
They say chin up.
Tomorrow is a new day.
But I know,
it will come back.
When I'm lying in the dark,
contemplating.
It approaches,
silently through the night,
slipping into me,
over me,
covering me,
choking me,
like a curse,
only more painful.
When will it end?
Maybe never. ~

~From the mind of Renee

Pause for thought...

If you're interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3jol1S0BTs&NR=1

Sound in silence...

Cut off, I'm left to wander.
Roaming the wasteland, looking for something.
Looking for peace of mind maybe.
Cut off by actions and lack thereof.
I had a hand in my isolation.
My loneliness is partially by my doing.
Cut off by silence.
And not just my own.
Is there anyone out there?