If you have 10 minutes...

Check out the Red State Roadtrip videos on Truthout.org .

Why...

...has this story vanished? I think we all need to write John Conyers a letter and ask him what's happening.

Well-er...

Damn, what a week. Started off crap with being sick, ended up nice by tying lots of loose ends together and getting unstuck.

Finally, finally hashed it out with my editor and got final approval for my doc. on poverty. Went down and got some decent tape from my subject and am looking forward to shifting this project in to high gear in the next week. Also, we may have found a home for Jed, which makes me really happy. As much as I love the big Lummox, four dogs is a lot. The lady who might take him is a potter who has a five acre spread in Chatham County and she has a really good energy about her. I think it would be dynamite match and my fingers are crossed for a speedy resolution.

What the hell is...

...Parkour?

Crazy dog people...

Yep. You guessed it. We have another foster dog at our house, bringing the total number of canines to...4! What'ya gonna do? He was in danger of going nuts at the shelter and we both have savior's complexes. He's sweet and no trouble though, so we're fine. We named him Lefty 'cause he's got a gimpy left paw. Jesus, this sounds like one of Ross' blog entries about cats. I have to stop now.

Yay! I have a cold...

So, I've decided to take matters in to my own hands about getting more work. I'm putting together a presentation to give to the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke, proposing a bunch of new audio classes that I could teach. Also, I've decided to go to New York in April and get my ProTools (an audio software suite) certification. It's going to cost money that I don't have, but it's going to put me in a good spot, jobwise.

In other employment news...
I met a woman at the video store yesterday. She was checking out every version of Macbeth they had, so we started talking about the relative merits of teaching The Scottish Play to eighth graders (her job). We got around to the fact that I have a theatre background and she asked me if I was interested in doing some acting, for money. Turns out that Duke Medical School hires people at $15 an hour to portray patients for their med students to interact with. Weird. But I think it might be fun and at the very least, it's a great documentary idea. So, I applied. We'll see what happens.

Sometimes...

The hammer of humility taps you on the shoulder and sometimes *SMACK* in the middle of your forehead.

Songebob outed...

A cunning attempt to promote homosexuality.

Sheesh. Those gay people. Always recruiting.

Seriously people, kids are dying in Iraq, the value of the dollar is plummeting, millions of people have been displaced by a huge natural disaster. Do we really need to spend our energy worrying about a sponge in suitpants who happens to hold hands with his friend Patrick? No.

Side note to the folks at Focus on the family: eat it.

Best subject line...

...for a spam email ever:

fat ass narcissism carbonaceous

Yes!!!!

My little brother is awesome...

So, AJ and I have been working on some new songs lately. I showed him how to play don't get around much anymore and La Bamba two weeks ago and he was doing okay with both. He could play all the chords and he had the melody down, but the rhythm was weird and he knew it. So, I ended up making him a CD of me playing both songs so he could practice at home and get a better feel for both. Well, apparently he practiced with that damned CD like a maniac because when he pulled out his ukulele and played for me this week, he blew me away. He wasn't just playing the notes anymore. He owned them and he knew it. When he was done, a little smile crept across his face and, I swear, I've never been so proud of a kid in my life. My little brother is awesome.

Goodbye Johnny...

No matter what happened when I was a kid, through good and bad, there was always Johnny Carson. Every blogger in the United States between the ages of Thirty-Five and Sixty-Five, I'm sure, just wrote that same sentence. That was the wonder of his appeal. During an era of revolution that was characterized by the widening "generation gap", fathers and sons could agree on two things. One was Peanuts. Charles Schultz never wrote a bad strip. The other was Carson. The tonight show probably did more for father/son relationships from 1962 to 1992 than any amount of therapy could have. Hell, it was a serious right of passage to finally be allowed to stay up and watch Carson. The Tonight Show and puberty went hand in hand. And a good thing too, because when your body and the world around you is changing so rapidly, you need a constant. And you sure as hell need a laugh. Carson provided both.

All through my teens and right up through graduate school, Carson was always there when I needed him. I could be having the worst day of my life, but as soon as I heard Ed McMahon's voice and saw Carson appear from behind that big curtain, I knew everything was going to be alright. Thanks Mister C.

The "real" estate...

Nada Brahma...

...Loosely translated from Sanskrit means: The world is sound.

Hey, here's my impression of me...

The other night I was walking with a group of friends who were doing stupid impressions of each other and someone says: "Hey, here's an impression of Paul.", which consisted of swift walking, hands in pockets, and silence. The portrait was met with no small amount of laughter, so you know there's some truth there.

Flashback to the job we had over Christmas in Seattle. A woman tells me that, while she was at dinner, a group of the students were talking about teachers and the conversation eventually landed on me. One guy, a newer dancer, says: "Oh, I hate that guy. He's such an arrogant son of a bitch."

Flashback to Tuesday. Sharon and I had a lunchtime, organizational meeting with some dancers and I wasn't happy about how it went. I told her that I wasn't interested in going to any more meetings like that and she says: "No. You have to. You're the silver backed gorilla. They love the alpha male energy. I need you there to balance things out."

Interesting.

There was a time when I would have been upset about all three for different reasons, but I feel much more detatched now. I can step out and look at Paul without having to feel anything about him. He's like a friend of mine that I can have thoughts about like any other friend. It's good to know how other people feel about him and each bit of information I gather is like a gift. Paul is a science experiment.

In the past I would have taken these comments and carried them around with me forever. "Am I an arrogant son of a bitch?" "I am an arrogant son of a bitch!" "Wait, am I?" Etcetera. I didn't know myself at all back then. I had lots of romantic notions about how I should be and I had lots of unrealistic expectations that I could never meet. I missed a lot of beauty while I was busy kicking myself. I don't do that anymore, but now maybe I give myself too much slack.

Pete the dog...

...decided to throw up at 5am this morning so, after cleaning that up, I sat up with him for a couple of hours and read my book. I haven't been awake that early in years and I forgot how peaceful it can be. The rat race is still asleep. Sometimes a vomiting dog is a good thing.

Good follows bad...

Nothing but light today. Gears of life meshing away happily.

My documentary presentation went well and I was able to sell my editor on the idea of the subject that I want to do.

My class at Duke is almost full and I'm psyched to start.

Improv rehearsal included real water being spit on an unsuspecting UNC student.

Gold. All gold.

Last night...

...I was in a field with decaying Corinthian columns, brown, dry grass and a young woman in a house dress. It looked like Andrew Wyeth might have painted the scene (yeah, I know, not alot of Corinthian columns in the Wyeth portfolio. My dream. Shut up.) I was walking around while she watched me. I heard rustling in the grass and jumped back. I realized too late that I was about a foot from a small cottonmouth. I ran and when I was about twenty yards away, I noticed the bite marks in my right forearm. I ran to "town", but instead of seeking medical attention, I stopped at a store that sold hockey and stock car memorabilia. They had some hard candy in a jar on a shelf and I tried to buy four pieces of it, but I only had 36 cents.

I dreamt...

in color last night. 16 steps down into the stairwell. Rain water dripping down the walls of the building. Concrete. I was smoking and I was cold. I felt sorry for myself but I didn't know why. Through three doors and around a corner I saw that the door to apartment 4B was ajar. Sickly blue light from an ancient television danced across the faces of five catatonic old people. As I stepped in and faced the t.v., I was met with the image of Condoleeza Rice being sworn in as Secretary of State.

We are who we've been waiting for.

Story time...

I don't want to work in radio. I'm having the hardest time getting my documentary going. Mostly because I've found a subject that I love and my editor is not going to love. The story that I want to do is not going to be what he wants to do. Assignment is my new least favorite word.

Carnivale...

...is a rocking show. I know I'm late to the party, but I just had to say it anyway. If you've never heard of it, check it out. season one is on dvd.

Note to self...Bruce Lee

Saw snippets of a Bruce Lee documentary today in which he was talking about Jeet Kun Do being a formless form. Infinitely adaptable to the now. It's so clear and beautiful when you watch him fight. Be bamboo.

Why is it always...

...12:49 am when I start to write?

I let my guard down tonight and Sunday crept up on me. Saturdays are lighter than air, but Sundays can really push you in to a corner. It's always been this way. I inherited my dread of Sundays from my grandfather who seemed to loathe them for some unspecified reason. I never asked him about it. I should have. It would be a relief to blame it on genetics but I doubt any answer would actually help me. Only one thing does help, and that's work. When I work, I forget. And forgetting is useful. It's the pain killer when you ache and the hangover remedy on Monday morning. I didn't work today. Nor did I forget.

Sunday, I surrender.

The Warren Harding error

I've been reading this chapter in my book that is talking about style over substance and ran across this quote about Warren Harding's speech making:

"[His speeches} are an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea."

brilliant. Love it.

Playoffs? Playoffs?

Scott, Katy, Ryan, PT and Lil' G all came over to watch the games yesterday. Big fun. If I could laugh that much every day I might stand a chance at being a normal human being. Thank goodness the Steelers won or this guy might have gone ballistic.

Ryan also made these yesterday. They have an address in Cooltown.

If you want something done right...

...embrace change and the people who can help you when they are standing right in front of you. Key to building a great community as far as I'm concerned.

We've been doing a lot of scene building workshops at the camps we've been teaching at lately and it's been interesting. San Francisco, where we come from, has had a vibrant swing scene through many transitions and struggles and people seem to be interested in how a community can grow so big and still be cohesive. It's funny to hear the preconceived notions about it that they come with and just how far off base they usually are.

Here are the keys to building a scene, any scene, as far as I see them. Some may seem counterintuitive in that they go against standard "business" practices. But your community isn't a business. It's a community. A community that you happen to be running a business inside of.

1. Don't talk smack about anyone. Refrain from writing that scathing post on the chat board that you are dying to write. Don't have conversations about how screwed up people are in your scene. If someone is being a jerk, let the universe handle it. The karma wheel eventually spins and jerks get their comeuppance. No further action is needed on your part. The voice of experience talking here.

2. Decentralize it!! If your scene is run by one central person or body of people, it's growth is being inhibited. There needs to be room for new ideas and new people for there to be a vibrant and living community.

3. Don't be territorial. Encourage everybody to take classes with everyone that they can and to go to as many other venues as they can. Not everyone is going to like what you do and it's unfair not to let them see the big picture. If you love your students/customers, set them free. You'll see them again. And, if you don't, think about what you can do to improve your product. Meanwhile, be glad that they found somebody that fits their learning style better than you did.

4. Concentrate on your product, not the competition. Too many people spend their time worrying about competition instead of improving their teaching/product. If you have the best product people will seek you out. In ten years of teaching in the Bay Area, Sharon and I spent exactly $0 on advertising. ALL of our business was word of mouth. Improve the product, improve the returns. Plus, It's more fun than worrying.

5. Always be learning. I am always working on my teaching and dancing through reading, experimentation, and practice. I think that you need to continue to evolve as a teacher in order to move closer to mastery. People know if you are resting on your laurels and they resent it. It takes a lot of energy to follow this rule but it's always been worth it.

6. Don't chase the last nickel. When we ran our dance in San Francisco, the guest list was almost as long as the list of paying customers. Why? Because the people who we let in for free were mavens in the community. They were the trend setters and the ambassadors of the swing scene. Where they went, others followed. We also let them take classes for free. Never underestimate the power of having experienced people who also happen to be nice in an inexperienced class. The impact is well worth it. Give away a lot of valuable stuff. What does it cost you really? Nothing. In fact, it will make you money.

7. You are full of shit. Remember this when you start feeling touchy or territorial about your scene. It's just fear talking to you. Feel free to acknowledge it and move on to being the awesome scene builder that you are.

8. Delegate. Repeat after me: "Although I am a total control freak, I acknowledge that I am unable to run an entire scene by myself. I henceforth promise to ask for help and empower people who want to help me." Feel better? No? Wow, you really are a control freak.

more later...

New book! New book!

Yeah buddy, I bought one. Malcolm Gladwell just came out with a new book called Blink. He's the guy who wrote The Tipping Point and he's a freakin' genius. Well, I really like his stuff anyway. The Tipping Point is now in softcover and you can pick it up cheap, so do so. This baby I bought today is hardbound and I broke my own rule about no hard covers to get it. That's how much I like what this guy has to say. Here's his website and it appears that he'll be coming to Durham on his book tour in February. Score.

iPod...

My favorite disclaimer at the bottom of the page for Apple's newest music player.

2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle.

New day, new dog...

Everybody, this is Jed. Jed, everybody. Jed is now in our house and being fostered by us. Today was his first day and he did great. Smart guy, eager to please. Gonna make somebody a great pet. Maybe you.


Curious about the camera

Out Cold

Scott Jennings saves Christmas...

Not really. But he did a super cool thing, which was to include a receipt with his secret Santa gift so I could exchange the Clay Aitken biography (After reading it of course. Fuckin' love Clay Aitken!!) for 16 bux of store credit at Borders. Yes!! Thank you Scott Jennings.

Best customer service EVER!!!...

Several months ago I dropped my iPod and have been without it ever since. On Friday, I finally broke down and went to the Apple store to see how much it was going to cost to get it fixed. Upon arrival, I was directed by an employee to log on to the store's network and sign up for a place in the customer service queue. It was easy and allowed me to then roam the store and play with stuff instead of standing in line. (Yes!! I hate lines.) Then, when my name was called, I handed my iPod to one of the apple geniuses and simply said "iPod no work. Don't know why." He told me that he'd take a look and that I could continue playing around in the store; he'd come and find me when he was finished. (Yes!! I hate waiting around.) When he came back (only ten minutes later) he said that he was "unable to fix it, (insert dramatic pause) so here's a new one!" What? Yes. It is the company's policy to give you a new iPod if yours is experiencing any trouble while under warranty. Awesome.

This is one of the reasons that I wil ALWAYS be a Mac user. Great product, sure, but a big part of my brand loyalty is the fact that Apple actually appears to give a shit about me. They get it.

Thanks Jeff...

My good friend Jeff sent me a bunch of inspirational links to help me with my "artists block" a few days ago, one of which was this. I will read this every day. Thanks Ho Ho.

s-a-t-u-r-d-a-y...

Rams and Jets move on? What? Doesn't really matter I guess since the Patriots and Steelers will be handily disemboweling the both of them next week.

Doings...
Got hired yesterday to do an editing project that will be used as ambient sound for a travelling photo exhibit. Part of the Center for Documentary studies at Duke, this is the first project of it's kind and I'm pretty stoked that they thought of me for the audio portion. Little cash benefits, but it should be fun and educational which is really the name of the game anyway. Also had a meeting with Zach to talk about possibly doing some of the advertising and collateral for Dirty South. So, lots to do in the near future.

Also went to the flea market today and mostly struck out but I did get some old photos from the "Old Photo Guy". This is my favorite:

Dude...

What the hell?

If it don't fit...

...don't force it. Duh. I've been trying to do artwork all day for a little side project I have going and I thought it was going to be fun. It's not. This is why I got out of graphics. I can't force it. I draw when I draw. If I'm not feeling the flow/Tao, it ain't happening. Might as well read a book. Instead, I chose to slam my forehead repeatedly in to the muse's door, hoping she would eventually open it. The muse was not home. Grrr. I then turned to get some inspiration from this gigantic book of poster art that I got for Christmas, but it just made me sad that those guys can draw better than me. How pathetic is that? This is the endless loop of doubt that plays throughout my life. sad. As I get older, I think I am actually getting better at relaxing in to a project, but not today apparently. Nothing is possible when stress and tension are the only motivating factors. I know this to be true. And yet,.. yet...there it is.

I did however do about an hour of ukulele meditation which made me feel considerably better and then Sharon made me watch an episode of Jeeves and Wooster which made me very happy.

On a last happy note, civil rights leader Ann Atwater has agreed to be part of my audio documentary on poverty. Score.

New Uke...

New Fluke

Sharon, in a fit of overwhelming Christmas spirit,
let me buy this little baby while we were in Seattle.
The manager of the store had mismarked as $30 less
than it was supposed to retail for but, as it was his mistake,
he gave it to me for the cheap price. Sweet!

Birthday in common..

So, I hit this site by accident and found out that I share my birthday with:

Patsy Cline. Great!
Peter Sellars. Even Better!
Agnes DeMille. Brilliant!
Jonathan Taylor Thomas. WHAT?

I go out blogging...after midnight...

I just remembered that I got shot in my dream the other night. It's happened before and it always feels the same. Not painful, just concussive. Weird. I don't even remember the context, just the shooting.

In other weirdness...I found a MIDI file for the song Sugar,Sugar by the Archies today and thought it would be fun to learn it on ukulele. As soon as I started playing it, I heard Sharon drop the F bomb in the living room. What??, said I. And she says "I was just reading an article about how the Monkees were supposed to record that song and after Mike Nesmith had a blow up with Don Kirschner, Kirschner decided to give it to the Archies, and when you started playing that song was the exact moment that I read the words Sugar, Sugar." Fuck, what the?, who? No. Yes. I don't know what that means, but it's fucking scary.

Back in the Dirty South...

Finally home. Had a crappy flight from Seattle to Dulles yesterday, on which I noticed that I was, in fact, getting sick. I made it all the way through camp without succumbing to "the bug" only to come down with it last night. Sorry flight 219, but you are all now infected. Happy New Year!

It's awfully nice to be back at the ranch with the doggies and four weeks ahead of me with NO touring whatsoever. Time to reflect. It does feel like a truly "new" year this time around and I am looking forward to 2005 like I have not looked forward to a year in a really long time. The 70 degree weather is doing wondrous things for my attitude and I feel like I can get on with things now.

Post Camp...

Spent the last five days teaching at Swing Out Northwest in Port Townsend, WA. The camp was fine, but long. Heavy schedule and lots of extra things tacked on. Highlights: Played La Bamba as a ukulele duo with Virginie; chased Steven around the dining room for making noise with party favors; made up new games involving a ping pong table and six players after 3am.

Last night I stayed up 'til 5:30am dancing and we got booted from the camp at ten, so I'm wiped. More tommorrow.