Toner Mishap

Elvis Costello Turns 60

2014-08-25T14:46:00.002-07:00

I'm a working travelling musician, but just on a bigger scale.

Elvis Costello, musician, singer, song writer

Declan Patrick MacManus turned 60 today. You and I know him as Elvis Costello. The man has an impressive body of work. I first heard of him in the early '80s singing "Watching the Detectives" and "Radio, Radio." His lyrics were what drew me to his music that I have grown to love over the years. I have seen him in concert three or four times and I am going to see him in a couple of weeks at the Hollywood Bowl.

I wrote this little piece because I saw a post that it was his birthday and they listed 10 songs that they thought were his best. When someone has a body of articulate work as Costello does picking 10 songs or even 20 as the best is a fool’s errand.

Depending on my mood or life’s circumstances certain songs rise to the top. When I was going through my divorce and everything I had worked hard toward was disintegrating before my eyes the song, “This is Hell” resonated for a while.

Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

Veronica – I only found out a couple of years ago from my daughter that this song was about Costello’s grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer’s. This was a big hit, but I am sure not many knew the story behind it. This was co-written by Costello with Paul McCartney. McCartney plays on his Höfner bass.

Just about Glad – I love the lyrics and especially the chorus: Just about glad we didn't do that thing / Just about glad we didn't have that fling / Just about glad we didn't give it a try / Just about glad, is that a tear in your eye? I dedicated this song to relationships that never developed or went too far.

Episode of Blonde – Once again his words are biting and so on target: A tornado dropped a funnel cloud with twenty tons of rain / Though she had the attention span of warm cellophane / Her lovers fell like Skittles in a 10-pin bowling lane / But nothing could compare with the explosion of fame.

Let Him Dangle – I always felt that there was a short story in this song and there was certainly a real life true story behind this song: As the hangman shook Bentley's hand to calculate his weight / Let him dangle, let him dangle / Let him dangle, let him dangle…From a welfare state to society murder / Bring back the noose is always heard / Whenever those swine are under attack / But it won't make you even, it won't bring him back / Let him dangle, let him dangle / String him up.

Deep Dark Truthful Mirror – This has a wonderful jazzy piano sound and according to Costello’s website it is just bizarre lines regarding butterflys and monkeys, which mean nothing. In a BBC interview EC said he lifted them from a nature program he was watching as they sounded cool. He has also said that the idea was to give the impression the main character in the song is hallucinating.

Psycho – When I first heard this song on the highway to Laughlin probably 15 years ago, I got goose bumps from it. I listened to it so much that it has lost its shock, but still you should hear it once or twice. We were sitting on a bench. Mama / Thinking up a game to play / Seems I was holding a wrench. Mama / And then my mind just walked away.

This is Hell – This is a song that can always come in handy: My Favourite Things" are playing again and again / But it's by Julie Andrews and not by John Coltrane / Endless balmy breezes and perfect sunsets framed / Vintage wine for breakfast and naked starlets floating in Champagne / All the passions of your youth are tranquillised and tamed / You may think it looks familiar, though you may know it by another name / This is hell (this is hell), this is hell (this is hell) I am sorry to tell you / It never gets better or worse (it never gets better or worse) / But you'll get used to it after a spell / For heaven is hell in reverse / This is hell, this is hell.

Costello also has amazing jazz and classical CDs

My Flame Burns Blue – It consists of recordings from the North Sea Jazz Festival in July 2004, made with Steve Nieve and The Metropole Orkest, with Vince Mendoza conducting. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Jazz albums chart.

Il Sogno – This is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Music albums chart.

CSNY 1974 – Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young

2014-07-13T09:19:00.001-07:00

I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me
the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes
and you can tell that's true.

Neil Young, singer, song writer, from the song "Old Man"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are an interesting and amazing group of individual musicians and artists. I have been listening to their new CD simply titled CSNY 1974. It captures their stadium tour in the middle of that year.

The CD is a wonderful collection of their songs that many already have and have heard myriad times over the decades. This compilation breathes new life into the songs because you can hear the enthusiasm of the musicians and the power of their lyrics. I was reading through the 186-page mini book that is included in the three CD package that also features a bonus DVD of one of their shows.

What I didn’t know is they were pegged with the reputation as the American Beatles. That is a weighty title to live up to. When you consider they took off just as The Beatles disbanded, they may have reached that lofty stage from time to time. Musically CSN&Y seems more technically skilled than the Fab Four were and their intricate vocal harmonies equaled and even surpassed the Liverpool lads. Yet without The Beatles there probably would not have been CSNY. Some of their songs are certainly anthems of the times, timeless, and inspirational. Individually and collectively they have outwardly embraced a social consciousness “Love The One You’re With,” “Teach Your Children,” “Ohio,” “Long Time Gone,” “Wooden Ships,” and many others. They have said themselves that egos and drugs may have limited their time together. Still, individually they also assembled an impressive list of songs, not unlike John, Paul, George, & Ringo individually.

The CD follows the concert format with the first CD called The First Set, which includes “Love the One You’re With,” “Wooden Ships,” “Immigration Man,” “Helpless,” “Carry Me,” “Johnny’s Garden,” “Traces,” “Grave Concern,” “On The Beach,” “Black Queen,” and “Almost Cut My Hair.” This set is a raucous and high energy. “Black Queen” Stephen Stills’ song brings to mind Jimi Hendrix and the CD closes with the bluesy “Almost Cut My Hair.”

The second CD is mellow and showcases their harmonies. Songs on this CD include “Change Partners,” “The Lee Shore,” “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” “Our House,” “Fieldworker,” “Guinevere,” “Time After Time,” “Prison Song,” “Long May You Run,” “Goodbye Dick” (a short ditty by Young regarding President Nixon resigning just before they went on stage), “Mellow My Mind,” “Old Man,” “Word Game,” “Myth of Sisyphus,” “Blackbird,” “Love Art Blues,” “Hawaiian Sunrise,” “Teach Your Children,” “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” This version of “Old Man” with the harmonies of Stills, Nash, and Crosby has deeper and fuller feel, same with “Blackbird.”

The third CD features “Déjà Vu,” “My Angel,” “Pre-Road Downs,” “Don’t Be Denied,” “Revolution Blues,” “Military Madness,” “Long Time Gone,” “Pushed It Over The End,” “Chicago,” and “Ohio.”

The guys are still putting out music. My recent favorite is David Crosby’s “Croz.” His music just lays it out there. His song “Time I Have” includes the lyrics:

People do so many things that make me mad but

Angry isn’t how I want to spend what time I have

Cognitive dissonance they call it

I wonder just how small it

Could be made to be

In me

There so much disturbing shortsighted shit

We must be able to do better than just live with it

I’m looking to find some peace within me to embrace

To encourage that smile to find my face

sometimes I’m

winning

These guys collectively and individually are artists and poets who teach and delight.

By The Book

2014-04-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

There is no friend as loyal as a book.

Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) Writer

I have taken the liberty of copying the New York Times’ book review feature called By The Book and asked myself some of the same questions they ask authors. Here is a brief interview about books with myself.

What books are currently on your nightstand?

I don’t have any books on my nightstand. I read outside of the bedroom. What I am currently reading is “An Object of Beauty” by Steve Martin.

Who is your favorite novelist of all time? And your favorite novelist writing today?

I would say John Cheever and William Trevor. Trevor can pack so much information into a relatively short sentence better than anyone else I have ever read. Cheever creates situations where I feel I am viewing a family or an individual’s private moment during a moment of crisis. Philip Roth just retired, but I think he is among the best writers I have ever read. There are many other writers I like such as Dennis Lehane, Edward P. Jones, to give just a couple of names.

What books would you most recommend?

It depends on what they liked. For example, I think a good mystery is a great way for someone to start reading. A good mystery is a page turner and it provides the reader with the excitement of a good book that is beyond anything the movies can deliver.

Who do you like as a mystery writers?

I would say that I am rather stuck on Lee Child’s character Jack Reacher. A new writer that my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed was Roger Hobbs’ “Ghost Man.” I am looking forward to reading P.D James and Jo Nesbo.

What are your literary guilty pleasures? Do you have a favorite genre?

Mystery. I love bibliomysteries best of all. My favorites are John Dunning’s series with his bookshop detective Cliff Janeway. I also enjoyed Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The “Shadow of the Wind” and its cemetery of lost books.

Which books might we be surprised to find on your bookshelves?

“How Murray Saved Christmas.”

What was the last book to make you laugh?

There is always at least a line or two in most books that makes me laugh out loud.

The last book that made you cry?

It doesn’t take much, but I so enjoyed reading “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by Helen Simonson. It felt like a Hallmark movie, just an old fashion love story.

The last book that made you furious?

Probably some nonfiction about our government’s involvement in Iraq that one wishes was fiction.

What kind of reader were you as a child? And what were your favorite books?

Not much of one, but I did read a few books.

What were the most influential books you read as a student?

Mark Twain’s “Mystery Stranger.”

Whom do you consider your literary heroes?

I wouldn’t call them heroes, but I admire prolific, talented writers. The writer who makes me most jealous is Steve Martin. He is just so talented in so many areas.

Who was your biggest influence regarding what you read?

I would say both my uncle and my friend Mark.

How do you find out about books?

The New York Times book critics and the book review section on Sundays, friends, articles, bookstores, etc.

Which novels have had the most impact on you as a writer? Is there a particular book that made you want to write?

I initially wanted to be a journalist. So, any books about reporters made me want to write. Also, now I enjoy essayists.

If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

The biography of George Washington “His Excellency” by Joseph J. Ellis. Washington was a saint; especially compared to the egoistical, lying mercenaries we get to choose from today.

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

It depends on what type of evening I wanted. For history David Halberstam, Kevin Phillips, George Seldes, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Studs Terkel, Gay Talse, and many others. For fiction Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Philip Roth, and I could go on.

I would simply be a fly on the wall. Just to listen to them would be thrilling and inspiring.

What kinds of books do you like to read before you go to bed?

Whatever book I am currently reading.

Do you enjoy historical fiction?

Yes, I love long sweeping stories by Beverly Swerling, Ken Follett, and many others.

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?

I didn’t finish it and don’t remember it.

What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

Many of the classics that I just will never get around to. Although I do hope to read “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas and “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy.

What do you plan to read next?

There is a new western coming out by Larry McMurtry that I am looking forward to reading.

Any overlooked books you want to mention?

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Last Samurai” by Helen DeWitt and thought it would be on all the bestseller lists. From the dust jacket’s first paragraph: Ludo, age six, is a prodigy. His mother, Sibylla, raises him alone and tries hard to keep his voracious intellect satisfied while she struggles to make ends meet.

Bands, Singers and Songs that Influenced My Musical Preferences

2014-04-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

Music should come crashing out of your speakers and grab you, and the lyrics should challenge whatever preconceived notions that listener has.

Lou Reed (1942-2013), singer, song writer

It’s either high school or college where the songs you hear are the ones that stick with you through life, generally. I say that, but I still have fond memories of songs that give me that from an earlier period. I can recall running around our old neighbor waiting to hear The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" on the radio. The station was AM KHJ 93, boss radio. But, I was not a Beatles fan early on. I preferred The Monkees.

I liked The Monkees well beyond the years I should have. Micky Dolenz was my favorite. I recall being teased when I left my neighborhood buds to go home to watch The Monkees Monday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC. I would come back outside once the show was over to scorn and ridicule, but I was full of confidence for no reason and it didn’t bother me.

Eventually it was through these same friends that I discovered Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. "WPLJ" (Wine Poured Lemon Juice) was an early favorite. This was around the 8^th grade. We’d listen to "Fat Man" by Jethro Tull and sing it to one of the over weight kids in our hood.

By high school, I was a fanatical Rolling Stones fan. It happened gradually. In 1971, I purchased Sticky Fingers and listened it to over and over. I had my parents old beige Hi Fi (short for high fidelity, not to be confused with Wi Fi). By the time Exile on Main Street came out, the Hi Fi was passed its prime and I needed a new record player to play Exile on. The album would skip around. The only song I could hear all the way through was "Hip Shake." I helped an uncle who was driving a moving van and earned $30. I immediately went to Kmart and purchased a stereo that would play Exile.

Over the years, my bedroom décor evolved from motorcycle pictures and black-light posters of Dennis the Menace flipping off the world, a pull-top chain that circled my room, to a shrine to the Stones. However, there was a large poster from the cover of David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs that was allowed on my Stones wall, which my parents disliked. Just thinking about Diamond Dogs brings back a flood of high school memories.

Impressionable songs and groups


One of my first records

The Monkees – "I’m a Believer" written by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 may have been my first rock and roll record. Micky Dolenz was the lead singer as he was for most of their songs. I sat in front of my grandparents’ stereo and listened to it over and over while staring at the cover wishing I could meet them. My grandparents were obviously very patient with me. It has a very cool organ opening and an easy chorus to sing along with. I had no idea what the song was about, thinking it might have been about fairy tales. I was ultimately right since the song was used in the movie Shrek. Some of my favorite songs included: "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "She," "Mary Mary," "Words," and "Going Down."

The Beatles – After The Monkees I gravitated to the fab four. The first album I owned was Meet the Beatles that my father purchased for me because he thought The Monkees were silly. What did he know? Oh how I wished I still had that Beatles album that he got for me. I have since replaced it with another original. The first real album that I requested was Abby Road, which I received as a birthday present from my grandparents. I was in the 7^th grade and I liked "Octopus’ Garden" and "Maxwell’s Silver Hammer."


Sticky Fingers cover

The Rolling Stones – The Beatles broke up, so naturally off to the Stones. Sticky Fingers was the most current at the time. "Brown Sugar" and "Dead Flowers" were my initial favorites, but soon I grew to love the whole album. Of course the whole concept about sticky fingers or why there was a zipper and a man in his underwear was lost on me. Get Yer Ya Ya’s out, The Rolling Stones live album featured the best version of Jumping Jack Flash, which I would play to get myself pumped up for our park and recreation basketball team. Eventually, every song became a favorite.

Leon Russell


Cat Stevens

Leon Russell & The Shelter People / Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman – I have to group these two together because at a family gathering, a third or fourth cousin brought a date who worked for Rolling Stone Magazine. I must have talked to her about music and she sent me these two albums along with the current issue of Rolling Stone that had the first part of Hunter Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas article. I gravitated to Leon Russell. I loved his raspy voice. I started my snooty taste in music at this point. If you didn’t know who Leon Russell was or didn’t like his music, we had nothing to talk about. I liked a few songs on Tea for the Tillerman and eventually in high school the song "Wild World" reminded me of my first love when we broke up the first time.

David Bowie's Space Oddity

David Bowie – Space Oddity was a record I borrowed from a friend. I put inside my notebook, so no one would think I was too weird. I played the album while shooting hoops in my room (you know, one of those foam balls and plastic hoop). I was now a David Bowie fan.

Frank Zappa – Over Nite Sensation was a wonderful album

Frank Zappa's Over Nite Sensation

with a great cover. You simply were not cool unless you liked Zappa. In science class the teacher would let us bring in albums to play during class when we were dissecting frogs or whatever. I brought in Frank Zappa and The Mothers’ Just Another Band From LA, which featured "Billy the Mountain." Some of my classmates were offended by the ending chorus of "Billy the Mountain" – You don’t fuck around with a mountain. The teacher not wanting to make a big deal out of it let it play on.

Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs & Englishmen – I listened to this one over and over and still listen to it when I play ping pong with my buddy. I discovered Joe Cocker through Leon Russell. Some of my favorites included: "Delta Lady," "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window," "Feeling Alright," and "Cry Me a River." They have released a deluxe CD featuring more of the songs from that tour. It makes an already great album that much better. I recall around this time in the early '70s that another friend and I walked to the local theater to see the double bill of Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs & Englishmen with The Rolling Stones’ film Gimme Shelter.

The Kinks – I saw them at CSUN, again at Irvine, and

The Kinks' Soap Opera

Universal. They were a fun band and I enjoyed most of their songs. When a friend first said he was now into the Kinks back in ’75, I said, yeah right and I am listening to Herman’s Hermits. The Kinks made a come back with this Soap Opera. Some of those songs still resonate today such as "Rush Hour Blues," "Nine to Five," and "Have Another Drink." I was barely working back in those days and they still meant something to me. I suspect that is where I eventually picked up my appreciation for good lyrics.

Bob Dylan – I knew of him, but never listened much to him. Once I broke up with my first love, I found the lyrics "Positively Fourth Street" resonated. Then, "Don’t Think Twice," and pieces of "Just Like a Woman" all made sense to me. Dylan became a very important artist to me.


Tom Waits' Night Hawks at the Diner

Tom Waits – Continuing my appreciation for raspy voices and solid lyrics, Tom Waits fit the bill. I also think my snobbishness played a bit of role here. I detested much of what radio played especially when it came to Boston, Rush, Kansas, and the like. I remember playing his song "Better Off Without a Wife" numerous times before I was married to daughter’s mother. There is a lesson learned (or not learned) in there somewhere.

Elvis Costello – This guys lyrics always good. "Watching the


Elvis Costello

Detectives" was the first song I recall liking, but over the years his words grew even more biting and to the point. An old favorite was "This is Hell," which was how I was feeling about my home life in late ‘94.

Sinatra's Trilogy featured New York, New York

Frank Sinatra – He came into play during college. A friend called up excited that I had to listen to "New York, New York." Sinatra warrants his own essay, which I will do eventually. Sinatra was my gateway to jazz. I loved my discoveries of various Sinatra songs.

An Updated List of Concerts I've Seen

2014-04-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), abolitionist

Rock concerts
Frank Zappa (3xs, my first concert ever. Tom Waits was the opening act. This was at the Santa Monica Civic)

Beach Boys and Chicago (Anaheim Stadium)

David Bowie (2xs, Diamond Dogs tour, Anaheim Convention Center, and The LA Forum)

Jethro Tull (Los Angeles Forum)

ELO (Santa Monica Civic)

Tom Waits (2xs, Ivar Theater in Hollywood and at the Pantages Theater)

Leon Redbone (opened for Tom Waits)

Arlo Guthrie (Santa Monica Civic)

Pete Seeger (Cal. State Long Beach)

The Kinks (3xs CSUN, Irvine, Universal)


Paul Simon in concert Photo by DKW

The Rolling Stones (14 times: LA Forum 2xs ’75; LA Coliseum ’81; Anaheim Stadium ’84 not sure of the year, Rose Bowl 2xs one of those was Daughter’s first Stones concert, of course she wanted to go to the bathroom during the encore, but we were back without missing a song; Seattle Dome; Staples Center Halloween night three years ago; Madison Square Garden.

Joe Cocker (2xs, Santa Monica Civic & UCLA)

Bob Dylan (3xs, Universal Amphitheatre, Tucson, and Lake Tahoe casino, front row center)

Paul McCartney (2xs, his first tour after the Beatles and in 2011 at the Las Vegas MGM)

Elton John (2xs, Hollywood Bowl and at Caesar's Palace)

Guns & Roses (opened for the Stones)

Sheryl Crow (opened for the Stones)

J. Geils Band (opened for the Stones)

Prince (2xs, once opened for the Stones and was pummeled with shoes and at Staples Center)

Bruce Springsteen (2xs times, LA Sports Arena, Coliseum)

Red Hot Chile Peppers (Opened for the Stones)

Sting (Wiltern Theater)

Guns & Roses (Opened for the Stones)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Hollywood Bowl)

Crosby, Stills & Nash (at the Greek)

The Eagles (2xs The first time was a free private concert at the Wiltern sponsored by American Express and an open bar promoting Jack Daniel’s Black Label)

The Grateful Dead (Santa Monica Civic)

Paul Simon (2xs)

Ray Davies (2 or 3xs)

from Google images

Elvis Costello (2xs)

Lucinda Williams (opened for Elvis Costello)

Leon Russell (at a local venue in Agoura)

John Fogerty (Nokia Theater)

Randy Newman (Universal)

Rod Steward (early ‘80s, LA Forum)

Taj Mahal (Lake Tahoe, opened for Bob Dylan)
Zac Brown (Hollywood Bowl)

Jazz concerts

Frank Sinatra (4xs, three at the Universal Amphitheater, once at the LA Forum with Liza and Sammy Davis)

Tony Bennett (Hollywood Bowl)

Ella Fitzgerald (Hollywood Bowl)

Sarah Vaughn (Blue Note in NY)

Mel Torme (2 or 3xs, at the Hollywood Bowl)

Carmen McRae (4xs, Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Brandford Marsalis (Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Terence Blanchard (Hollywood Bowl and at local jazz club)

Ray Brown (Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Benny Green (Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Jane Monheit (3x at Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Tierney Sutton (3xs Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Karrin Allyson (3xs, Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Dee Dee Bridgewater (2xs, Catalina's Jazz club)

Oscar Peterson (Hollywood Bowl)

Diana Krall (Hollywood Bowl)

Regina Carter (Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Joshua Redman (2xs, Catalina’s Jazz Club)

Sonny Rollins (somewhere in Orange County)

A Few Items About The Misanthrope

2014-04-13T15:07:00.001-07:00

“What is the answer? In that case, what is the question?”

Gertrude Stein, 1874-1946, Writer

Read a couple of blogs posts at Tosy and Cosh that inspired me to start posting again. We’ll see how long it lasts. Not sure why I stop and start. I enjoy publishing them on Toner Mishap, but then stop just as suddenly as I start.

Let’s be optimistic and say this time, we’ll try to post more frequently. Now I am careful to emphasis that I am not going to post every day, which is just too much effort. We did it for one year in 2005 until 2006 and we had fun and gathered a bit of attention. Most of the posts from me were political in nature. While in hindsight the posts were rather too full of hyperbole, but then again that was my aim to call attention to the views and get comments.

Photo by RJW

So in the spirit of starting anew here are a few things you may or may not know about me. Me being the Misanthrope, I would rather not use the pseudonym, but I have almost 20 followers under that name.

Here are a few things about me:

1. I enjoy reading

2. I’d rather go by the initials RJW

3. I like to write and like to be read as well

4. I go to the gym more often than not

5. I work from home and rather happy about that since I spent years driving to downtown Los Angeles from a far away suburb

6. I often make notes while reading I underline in light pencil in my books or I write down a phrase or sentence I admire

7. I play darts with a buddy, but not in bars

8. I play ping pong and have yet to find any one who can beat me on a regular basis

9. I am pretty good at darts

10. I like more drama type movies over silly slapstick movies

11. I am not a fan of slapstick, except for the old time greats: Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, W.C. Fields

12. I love Godfather and Godfather II

13. A close second or third depending on how you count is Django Unchained. My favorite scene is when Christoph Waltz is surrounded by a crowd after shooting a marshal and then ends up getting paid

14. I like to golf, but rarely do

15. Happily married, finally

16. I feel very grateful and thankful for all I have

17. I am looking forward to retiring in five years at most, but hopefully sooner

18. Photography is of interest to me. I would like to get much better

19. I write poetry, but have no idea if it is any good

20. I love music and my tastes have evolved over the years (this will be a post in the near future)

21. I have hundreds of books and have turned our living room into a library

22. I dislike cheap, stingy people

23. I have no interest in religion or fairy tales that people believe verbatim

24. I have more than 23,000 songs in iTunes

25. I have playlists based on moods

26. Politics have gotten even more ugly over the years. Yes, in the early days of this country it may have been even worse, but we are suppose to be more civilized

27. I don’t think American is as good as it once was

28. We, America, have no business being the world’s sheriff

29. I like scotch before a steak dinner

30. I like red wine. Melbec is rapidly becoming a favorite

31. Utah has a lot of beauty, but far too many narrow minded people

32. I do not like pretentious people

33. I have written short stories, but have never submitted any for publication, mostly because I don’t think they were good enough

34. I have written essays and I had one published in the Seattle Times, but upon rereading it I can't understand why it was published

35. Arrogant people make me sick

36. Don’t understand why more young people don’t listen or learn from their elders

37. I have been burnt out in my job for a few years now, but keep going because I have no choice

38. My favorite rock band was the Rolling Stones beginning in 1971 with Sticky Fingers and growing with Exile on Main Street

39. Discovered the poignancy of Bob Dylan after the break up of my first love

40. Enjoy many of Woody Allen’s movies. One of my favorite's is Midnight in Paris. I used to love Annie Hall, but not so much any more

41. I tear up too easily for anything emotional

42. I wish I set a better example for my daughter in many areas

43. I’m very proud of my daughter who has a bachelor’s, master’s, and a law degree

44. I miss my dad, my grandparents, and my uncle

45. I met my wife on Facebook. We knew of each other since the 7^th grade. We were on opposite pages in our school year books through junior high and high school, but never hung out or talked much

46. Now my wife and I are together most of the time

47. I love puttering and hanging out around the house

48. I love my wife’s grandchildren. Daughter has none yet

49. I don’t go to many concerts any more because I’ve seen most everyone I want to see and they are too expensive these days

50. I have a great idea for a short story that I have been toying with for years

51. I appreciate and thank you for reading through all of the above

Oh, For The Love Of Christ

2013-11-21T15:55:00.002-08:00

"Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.
Simone Weil, French philosopher

Costo apologizes for labeling the Bible fiction.

Of course it belongs in the non-fiction section, right next to the Dr. Seuss' tomes. There is no such thing as allegory.

It’s Not Art. It’s Graphic Defecation!

2013-11-18T15:52:00.002-08:00

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Nelson Mandela, former South African president

Ever since Daniel Boone allegedly tagged a tree stating he killed a bear a couple of hundred years ago graffiti has proliferated. The hills of Chatsworth, California and surrounding areas are where hundreds of old movies, mostly westerns were filmed from as early as 1914 (beginning with D.W. Griffith’s short silent drama “Brute Force,” which was a story of cavemen and dinosaurs), through the late 1950s. The trails around the areas are generally easy hiking trails and they provide a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding San Fernando Valley.

Steve (identified only by his first name) is not pushing a rock up hill, but he is trying to save rocks and boulders from being another eye sore and casualty of graffiti from gangs, drunken teenagers partying in the hills, and wantabe graffiti artists. It as close to a true Sisyphean effort as there may be.

Over the years, the recognizable rocks of Chatsworth Park have filled with graffiti marking gang names, lovers, and favorite beverages has served as a place to show off artistic prowess, some dated long before graffiti artist Banksy became famous.

Steve is an avid hiker and the bombardment of senseless defacing of nature was frustrating. He called the Graffiti hotline several times and never had a called returned. Three times he called Los Angeles County Michael Antonovich’s office, which is the County’s fifth Supervisorial District that comprises San Fernando Valley, and not a single call was returned. He called Metrolink on whose property much of the graffiti resides and was told he’d need a train spotter at $750 a day, even though he is hundreds of yards away from the railroad tracks. He called the park ranger and was told that he cannot paint over the defaced rocks or he would be arrested, as if he were tagging the rocks with graffiti. He finally talked to LA County Sheriff’s who were more sympathetic to his quest and would most likely ignore him.

Mad as hell, Steve took action into his own hands. On a sweltering November day he loaded his truck with two gallons of paint, roller brush, paintbrush, and rope and started his quest. Traipsing through the brush, he climbs the hills with a 20- to 30-pound backpack. He covered up a few of the offending tagged rocks. He has no reason other than the graffiti aggravates his aesthetic sensibilities.

“It’s not art. It’s graphic defecation,” said Steve. He has made five trips up there and spent 15 hours. “I feel like I have made a lot of progress. Maybe by the time I get 30 hours in it will just be maintenance.”

The color was a bit off on the first patches, but he found the right color. The guys at the Do It Center hardware store laugh that they have never mixed paint for rocks before. Steve spends $40 a trip to do his part to restore nature as best he can.

On his fifth trip up there, he loaded his truck up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday. Hiking up to the area, he was mildly surprised and frustrated that one of the cleaned rocks was already painted over. He is hopeful his efforts on the higher boulders last longer than some of the urban hieroglyphics.

“I don’t want to wake up any sleeping giants. It’s enough that it is getting done. Maybe I’m doing it for karma points.”

All photographs by RJW

Have You No Decency -- Republicans Hold Nation Hostage

2013-10-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

"...You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
--Joseph Nye Welch (October 22, 1890 – October 6, 1960) was the head counsel for the United States Army while it was under investigation by Joseph McCarthy's Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for Communist activities, an investigation known as the Army–McCarthy hearings.

From The New York Times: Because some states are not expanding Medicaid, two-thirds of the poor blacks and single mothers and a majority of the low-wage workers who do not have insurance will not benefit from the new health law.

Millions of Poor are left uncovered by Health Law and Republicans continue to try and stop the availability of health care.

Republican Congress Tells Citizens to Eat Cake

2013-10-01T06:29:00.001-07:00

“If the people have no bread, let them eat cake.”
--falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette

"If you are sick, please die"
--U.S. Republican members of the House of Representatives tell U.S. Citizens

Unlike Marie Antoinette's misattributed quote, there is no mistaking Congress' disdain for its citizens, led by House Speaker John A. Boehner. They don't care if more than 800,000 federal workers across the country are facing an uncertain financial future, including everyone with a 401K savings that is losing retirement money.

In the days ahead many government agencies prepared to close their doors, set up barricades and turn out the lights all because Republicans don't like President Obama's Affordable Health Care Act.

Just remember in November to quote another outspoken, knuckleheaded Republican when you vote and tell your elected representative, "You're fired!"

Endless Roads

2013-09-15T12:43:00.001-07:00

"The road that leads to nowhere for others might just be the road that leads to somewhere for you!”

― Mehmet Murat ildan, writer

What is it about roads? I love paintings and photographs that show a road disappearing into a distance. Maybe it easily captures the imagination and instantly allows the viewer to imagine driving off down the road or possibly the opposite that a lost love is returning (see the Long Road post below).

It’s not just visional arts, but there are myriad songs that talk about the road from going down the road, hitting the road, lost on the road, people who live on the road. We are suckers for the promise of a new start whether coming or going down the road.


A dirt road in Brian Head, Utah that leads up the hill to 11,000 plus elevation for a breathtaking view

When I added up all the time in the last 11 years I spent driving back and forth to downtown Los Angeles, I frighteningly found that I sat behind the wheel for six straight months 24 hours a day. Until I calculated all that time, I simply accepted it because I refused to live in Los Angeles County proper with its crazy congestion, crime, and corruption. I adapted and enjoyed my alone time listening to the news, books, or music. I suspect that is why one of the reasons that I have a relatively large collection of music. The last time I checked it was 23,000 plus of songs. I could probably drive for a few weeks without worrying about running out of songs. My Misanthropic playlist includes 780 songs and will play for 2.1 days, according to iTunes. I am continually revising my numerous lists. The first few songs of The Misanthrope Songs list include:

· Wrote a Song for Everyone by John Fogerty

· Heart on a Strong by Jason Isbell

· Checkout Time in Vegas by the Drive-By Truckers

· Waiting for Dawn by Bobby Long

· Long as I can see the Light by John Fogerty with Morning Jacket

· Take Me to Tomorrow by Dave Matthews

· Operator by Grateful Dead

· Useless But Important Information by Jimmy Buffett

· Call Me The Breeze by John Mayer

· Different Days by Jason Isbell

· Oldest Surfer on the Beach by Jimmy Buffett

· Ripple by Grateful Dead

· Happy Just to Be Like I am by Taj Mahal

· He’s Gone by Grateful Dead

· Time Passes Slowly by Bob Dylan

· Goddamn Lonely Love by Drive-By Truckers

· I Throw it All Away by Bob Dylan

· Roll Another Number by Neil Young and another 761 songs

This little structure was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. From this lookout you can see parts of Nevada and Arizona.


The view from the shack above

A few years ago when I drove alone from San Francisco back home, I navigated Highway 1 all the way. For some reason I felt my playlist of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was apropos. After a practically tough day at the office, I used to listen to my Misanthropic Jazz list, but today it’s mostly played when writing or reading. Because of the recent deaths of people close to me (my dad and uncle), as well as a short story idea I keep puttering with I feel I have assembled a perfect list for the time being. A few songs from my jazz list include:

· Star Dust by Joshua Redman

· So Long Mr. T by Aki Takase

· Let it Be by Joshua Redman

· I Have Dreamed by Christian McBride

· Solitude by Aki Takase

· I Guess I’ll Have to Forget by Christian McBride

· State of Mind by The Christian Jacob Trio

· Left Along by Terence Blanchard

· I Got it Bad and That Ain’t Good by Aki Takase

· The Folks Who Live on the Hill by Joshua Redman

· One for My Baby by Chris Botti

· Melancolico by Stan Getz

· Apres un reve by Arturo Sandoval

· Don’t Explain by Dexter Gordon

· Here’s That Rainy Day by Art Pepper

· Fables of Faubus by Project Trio**

· Fat Back and Greens by Regina Carter and Christian McBride

· Slow Song for a Dog by Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer


One of the photos from my journey on Highway 1, all those years ago

I have a Coffee House play list with acoustic songs and another one title Bar Jazz with Sinatra, Nat Cole, Diana Krall, Dean Martin and many others. So, you can see why I got use to driving and sometimes didn’t mind it.

I have not created a playlist of songs that incorporate road, but a quick sort found dozens, but here are a few:

· Wrong Side of the Road by Tom Waits

· Winding Roads by Terence Blanchard

· Rules of the Road by Nat Cole

· Revelation Road by Shelby Lynne

· Heaven’s Only Days Down the Road by Shelby Lynne

· Old Dirt Road by John Lennon

· Coming Down the Road by John Mellencamp

· Love is a Long Road by Tom Petty

· Lowside of the Road Tom Waits

· One for My Baby (And one more for the road) by Frank Sinatra

· The Long and Winding Road by The Beatles

· Why Don’t We Do it in the Road by The Beatles

· Road Ladies by Frank Zappa

· Dark Road Annie Lennox

· King of the Road by Dean Martin

· Further On Up the Road by The Bank

· On the Road Again by Willie Nelson, and I am sure hundreds more, but you get the idea.

Short city driving is certainly not my favorite and my little, redneck conservative city will eventually become known as the city of stoplights. I counted 12 traffic signals just going four miles and that does not include the stop signs. That kind of interruptive, stressful driving is only occasionally helped by music, so I try not to drive much in town.

It’s the long open road winding out to destinations unknown that stoke our imagination and keep us hopeful.


A wild flower along the road

Photographs by RJW

** "Fables of Faubus" is a song composed by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. One of Mingus' most explicitly political works, the song was written as a direct protest against Arkansas governor Orval E. Faubus, who in 1957 sent out the National Guard to prevent the integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine African American teenagers. Source: Wikipedia. I just discovered this when I was looking up the word Faubus for this piece.

Keys to Anything

2013-08-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

“I get up in the morning, torture a typewriter until it screams, then stop.”

--Clarence B. Kelland, American Writer (1881-1964)

photo by RJW

The Days of Ribbons and Keys

2013-08-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm totally in control of this tiny, tiny world right there at the typewriter.

--Joan Didion, writer

There is a bittersweet melancholy to the remembrance of things past. Recently we were in a river town in the mountains of southern California and the main road had several antique shops. Not sure why other than it is a tourist destination. Saturday morning after breakfast we ventured out to see the offerings of a bygone period.

As we walked through the stores item after item brought back a time of youth. There was a Browning camera that I remember my grandparents used. There were dishes my wife noticed that her mother used frequently when Kennedy and Johnson were leaders of the United States. Long playing records from the same era and even earlier featuring Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, as well as many other bands and artists from the 1950s through the 1960s. Surprisingly Bruce Springsteen’s first box set of live performances from the mid-80s was also in one of the stores.

I purchased a heavy duty Smith-Corona typewriter. It was similar to the gun-metal gray Remington I used as a budding journalist. For those young’uns who might venture to read this, typewriters were the indispensable tools for practically all writing, similar to your smartphone or your computer today. While I have my issues with technology, I have no intention of returning to the typewriter. Once the personal library is restored, the typewriter will grace a shelf along side a 1950s rotary phone with a letter prefix, instead of an area code.

Browsing through the aged goods were myriad unknown family photos and portraits exhibited in various old-fashion picture frames, but my thoughts drifted to the families who were once so thrilled to view and own those photos. I doubt any of the subjects or their relatives would really want their family photos on display as just filler. Sadly, more likely than not, those in the photos had either passed away and their relatives had no idea that a photo ended up discarded as part of an estate sale. Then again, I know people who have no interest in fulfilling a love one’s last request.

What will the antique store in 20 years contain? Will there be smartphones, iPads, DVDs all replaced by Google glasses or will they eventually be obsolete and people will communicate telepathically? But, that may be hard if everything continues to be so dumbed down that any communications will have to be nearly Neanderthal.

Maybe we should return to ribbons and keyboards that allow people to ponder and provide some thought to what is communicated.

Photos by RJW

Time to Change our End of Life Rules

2013-05-10T05:04:00.000-07:00

“Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

--Joseph Nye Welch

I can’t imagine any scenario where the end of a love one’s life is joyous. It is frequently rationalized and justified that the dying person is in a better place in order to make the survivors feel a bit better, but the departing loved one just went through several circles of hell to get there.

The end of life is not a pleasant production. There are hallucinations, painful, poignant, and pleasant memories, combined with some sad good-byes. There is the blue book of death ”Gone From My Sight, The Dying Experience” by Registered Nurse Barbara Karnes that Kaiser Healthcare provides to its patients in between fighting for palliative or hospice care, that explains what signs to be cognizant of during a love one’s last day(s).

Experts, specialists, and medical staff can recognize all the signs from decreasing appetite, disorientation, physical changes, and breathing patterns, but yet we do not allow the patient or the love one to make the call to leave their mortal coil. We would never let our pets suffer the way our society demand we have to suffer the indignities of the Grim Reaper’s visit, but we have to let our parents and other love ones go through the opprobrium of having everything shut down before we allow the life to ebb from their bodies.

Why is that? It seems there are reasons from religion’s rules to legal liabilities that continue to allow people to suffer until everything stops working, no matter how painful, even if morphine is of little help.

After jumping through hoops in contorted positions, one is lucky if hospice shows up in a timely fashion to ease the pain. The hospice people seem friendly and sympathetic; maybe it’s because they know how hard it was to finally reach this point of care.

On Mother’s day last year, I was on the phone demanding morphine and calling the caregiver from his family dinner to get his butt back to ease my father’s suffering. It is approaching the one-year of my dad’s passing and now my uncle is preparing to go. Yet, my relatives have gone through the same difficult stages. My uncle realized his time was approaching and told them that he was ready to go, but no. They explained he’d have to go to Oregon to die with that kind of dignity.

What a shame that a convicted killer can come closer to getting his/her request for death honored easier than you or I can at the end of our life.

“…I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.”

--Joseph Nye Welch

photo by RJW

The Following Losing Followers

2013-04-30T20:53:00.002-07:00

I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts.
--Orson Welles, director

I watched The Following with great hopes at the start of the season. Sadly at every turn the show disappointed with nonsensial plot twists and unrealistic police or FBI procedures. I am not even close to knowing all the proper protocols, but if I can tell the show lacks verisimilitude that is bad.

I will probably try to watch it next season, but if it continues its silly course they will have lost two viewers, which I suspect may be indicative of what many others are feeling.

Library Variations

2013-03-30T08:22:00.001-07:00

“Real luxury is time and opportunity to read for pleasure”
--Jane Brody

A Long Road

2013-03-26T17:05:00.001-07:00

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,

Healthy, free, the world before me,

The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

—Walt Whitman, “Song of the Open Road”

Photographs of roads leading into the horizon capture the imagination. One can contemplate and stare at the road that stretches before them and wonder where they lead. The physical destination is not as important as the mental journey – it makes all the difference.

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

– Lewis Carroll Alice, “Adventures in Wonderland”

Photographs by RJW

Life’s Cadence

2013-03-25T05:29:00.001-07:00

“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.”

–Henry David Thoreau

Once a strong and healthy tree cut down in its prime by Mother Nature. A strong wind, fierce waves finally broke it into submission. Now sitting in the ocean repeatedly enduring the pulse of the waves absorbing the water’s cadence.

Enjoy your Monday

Photograph by RJW

When Words Flow

2013-03-24T10:29:00.001-07:00

“I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about.”

–Oscar Wilde

On a good day the words just flow. On a bad day each word is akin to passing a kidney stone.


The Last Book Store Photograph by RJW

Sit and Think

2013-03-23T20:58:00.001-07:00

“My eyes are an ocean in which my dreams are reflected.”
--Unknown

Sitting and pondering the future or revisiting the past, either topic is best approached from such a location that provides blue skies and pillowy clouds. Rare is undisturbed contemplation to determine whether introspection or simple vacuity is called for.

Maybe it’s neither. Just appreciate the spectacular view.

Photograph by RJW

Read Your Eyes Out

2013-03-21T09:03:00.001-07:00

"I read my eyes out and can't read half enough...the more one reads the more one sees we have to read." ―John Adams letter to Abigail Adams, Dec. 28, 1794

The Last Book Store


The Last Book Store

Vincent van Gogh, Piles of French Novels and Roses in a Glass ("Romans Parisiens"), c. 1887

Photographs by RJW (painting by van Gogh)

Winter is Gone, Spring is Here

2013-03-20T06:16:00.001-07:00

“The first day of spring was once the time for taking the young virgins into the fields, there in dalliance to set an example in fertility for nature to follow. Now we just set the clocks an hour ahead and change the batteries in the smoke alarms [oil in the crankcase].”
― with apologies to E.B. White (1899-1985), essayist, "One Man's Meat"


Water lily at Hearst Castle

Photograph by RJW

The Mind on Books

2013-03-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”
- Confucius

Serenity on a Monday

2013-03-18T05:39:00.002-07:00

"I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.”
― William Shakespeare

Oh the serenity, such a distant memory on Monday morning.

Around Napa, California 2012

Photograph by RJW

The Flower of Separated Lovers

2013-03-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

“And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us.” ― Pablo Neruda

Our honeymoon gift from an ATV guide as we cruised the Kipu Ranch on Kauai made our day even more special. We took a three-hour tour of the 3,000-acre property that extended from the Huleia River to the top of the Haupu Mountains. This was a property owned by Hawaiian royalty, then given to a priest, whose family went on to become sugar-cane millionaires and land owners, all the while thanking God.

Our tour included a stop where Harrison Ford, in the first Indiana Jones movie, escaped to the awaiting seaplane from the inhospitable natives protecting their treasures. We had the opportunity to swing out over the river just as Ford did, so we did.

The highlight of the trip was the breathtaking beauty that awaited us at the top of Haupu Ridge. This isolated area is on the privately owned ranch that provides an awe-inspiring view of Kipu Kai beach that is only accessible by boat to the public. However, there is a road now accessible only to the caretakers of this isolated beach. The makers of the movie paved a road down to the beach for the caretaker that was the payment instead of cash to film there.

We soaked in the beauty of the place and prepared to leave, we mentioned to our guide that this was our honeymoon. He said, that he had a story to tell us. He pointed out a half flower called Naupaka. Its blossoms appear incomplete; they are only half a flower because all the petals are on one side. In reality, the flower is complete.

The flowers are white or cream colored, often with purple streaks. They have an irregular shape with all five petals on one side of the flower making them appear to have been torn in half.

One of the myths surrounding the flower is that a princess was forbidden to marry her true love, a fisherman, because he was a commoner. As they parted ways forever, she tore a flower in half, giving one half to him and keeping the other half for herself. She then returned to the mountains where her family lived. Brokenhearted, they both cried and planted their halves of the flower. Each half grew and became the two forms of naupaka – the beach naupaka (naupaka kahakai) and the mountain naupaka (naupaka kuahiwi).

It is said that if the mountain Naupaka and beach Naupaka flowers are reunited, the two young lovers will be together again.

Here is the secret of the flowers: when the two are jointed they create a heart. This was our guide’s honeymoon gift to us.

Photographs by RJW