i wish for well-restedness, and to be idle

Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets. The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done. 


These and other reminders from this article by Tim Kreider.

before i miss the twelfth night and last bit of christmas...

Here's a video I wanted to share with my sister. Watching it, I learned a bit more about the storyline of Les Miserables, and must say, it changes how I view my little cousin singing all the songs from the stage version, as he's done for the past few years.




And special shout out to all of you still needing to take down holiday decorations. FYI, my sister did today, and she won. [The above video is your prize, Kiddo.]


P.S.  So tidy in those bags!

in the mood for a little punky's whips this morning

This song, sung by Frank Zappa's drummer, Terry Bozzio, tells the story of how the drummer got a crush on a boy named Punky Meadows - because in the 70's boys looked like girls…

Here's a picture of Punky:



By the way, the video is not really work appropriate...  lyrics-wise and maybe playing-drums-in-underwear-wise.




Special thanks to Tom in Bend, Oregon who lead an impromptu Zappa Appreciation Workshop for me when I visited in 2009.  I learned all the intricacies of this great composer and his overly-talented and disciplined crew.

You've got to watch it 18 times to truly appreciate it.