Cheeky Monkey

Some press photog is quite the cheeky monkey.





I keep finding myself a day ahead all week. I was telling my coworkers I was expecting to watch 30 Rock last night, only to realize it was Wednesday ant then even worse I was walking to lunch expecting to talk about 30 Rock with all of them only to remember again that it hadn't actually aired.

So, today is Thursday and I'm wishing it were Friday but apparently it isn't.

I don't have much else to add at the moment.

To accommodate a shift

It would be easy to be down today. I can kind of feel it in the cold and rainy February air, a kind of begging for a come down after the last few days of sun and warmth. Personally, I am also just very tired. The last two days were 9 to 9 days and then last night I couldn't exactly sleep, doing a bit of wrestling with the ways in which life is complicated. Those kind of nights frustrate me because it would seem I could spend daytime hours thinking through that sort of stuff, but for some reason it creeps in at night until it finally wears you out.

But today I'm choosing to keep my head high and get my job(s) done.

I've finally sent along my taxes, hoping that this year wont come along with the hefty price tag that other years have. This is one of the ways in which I don't love being a for contract musician. This makes my money making much more complicated than many of yours.

In two hours I will register for my next quarter of classes. This too, makes me nervous because I fear it will all be a bit more than I can handle... this Spring. It seems as though the date of my parents 50th anniversary celebration is in flux and given the tight set of dates that I'm already keeping, along with class and jobs, I don't know exactly how I can accommodate a shift. But, I will. I'd do anything to celebrate this for/with them.

Tonight is my night without obligations so I will attempt to make my way back to the gym.
I was doing so well last week.

Two posts, One day

I've been on a bit of a music kick lately, and I thought I'd share. There seems to be a lot of neo soul/funk stuff making its way into the audiosphere and I have to say that it tickles my fancy a bit. I would say it was a neo-soul movement, but that happened a few years back when the likes of D'Angelo, Anthony Hamilton, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill etc were in their hayday. This stuff has a bit more retro vibe. Think throw back quality. Less r&b/hip hop and more doo wop/funk.

Here are a few examples that have been making their way through my iTunes lately.

Janelle Monae



How cute is she? Seriously, and it only gets better when you see her dance!

Take a listen here:



or download: Sincerely Jane

Next up we have my boy Raphael Saadiq. I'd known about Raphael for a while, but I hadn't given him ample time until recently. He is a former member of Toni Tony Tone. I think his album The Way I See It was one of the best of the year.



Take a listen here:



or download here: Big Easy

So then in a game of six degrees of separation, I give you a familiar name in Q-tip. This year, Q-tip (formerly of a Tribe Called Quest) released his album The Renaissance which employed the talents of such previously mentioned artists as D'Angelo, Raphael Saadiq and the odd choice of Nora Jones... which reminds me of that track she did with Andre 3000 which I quite liked. Anyway, The Rennaissance is a fantastic piece of uplifting hip hop. I don't know that I've heard a hip hop album in a while that I thought was quite so engaging.



Take a listen here:



or download here: We Fight We Love

Finally, I want to take us on a bit of a real throw back journey with my recent obsession, Andy Bey. I think this is one of the more unique and special voices I have come across... part Billie Holiday, part Barry White, part Antony and the Johnsons... all amazing. It seems that Andy recorded this kind of trippy psychedelic called Experience and Judgement which I kind of enjoy in its obvious Seventies ness, but he also recorded all of these jazz standards that I just can't stop gushing over.



I want to share two wonderful examples, so listen here:







and/or download here: Prelude to a Kiss or Aint Necessarily So

I think he is a gem.

Hopefully this will sugar coat your ears on this sunny afternoon. Yum.

Don't toy with me, you!

I'm actually shvitzing a little bit in my office, here. That is how warm it is today. A high of 64 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of February, I tell you. It's either a blessing or a curse because now we shall be tempted for Spring when it is not truly upon us. I think the Midwestern winter to be the most cruel of seasons, and today's heat wave is a perfect example.

Don't toy with me, you!

I gotta tell you that there is a downside to a big melt like today. Now although I no longer have to look at all the dog urine lining the snow banks of my sidewalk, what lies under those snow banks is now revealed and it is typically garbage and dead leaves. I think this is one of the more unpleasant parts of being in a city this time of year. In the country, we just had to deal with mud. I was ok with that.

It also reminds me that I don't have a bicycle. I with I could do something about that.

I've been a bit absent from blogging for a few days. I don't have a particular out of the ordinary reason other than that I've been busy. Yesterday was actually a day of notable accomplishments, getting into work and getting things done. I devised the appropriate lists and started checking them off in a quick like fashion. It felt good, really. By the end of the day my email in box was nearly empty and my desk pretty much paper free. I should follow this pattern more often, but then maybe days like that wouldn't feel so good?

I finished my book this weekend. I think Mary and I have decided that overall the book was a nice pat on the back for the ways in which we currently run our lives, but I also took away some new ideas about what qualities I might posses or be inclined to grow that would have more commonly perceived value than I feel they do now. It was interesting, because after finishing the book on Sunday I heard a piece on NPR yesterday morning about called The Tyranny of Dead Ideas which, I thought sounded fascinating and might serve as a good follow up.

I saw Coraline this weekend. In 3D! which, I have to say was a pretty great experience. I can't recall seeing a 3D movie since I was last at Disney World. Other than the little girl next to me continually saying "I want to go home!", I was able to suspend my usual disbelief with regards to animation. It was dark and fantastical and overall really enjoyable.

I also spent some time with Ryan and Linsey at the new coffee shop that has opened up down the street. We each did our respective readings, Ryan and I for class, Linsey for pleasure and I was just so glad to have this space to be in. It seems as though the neighborhood is finally taking off with a new Thai place having just opened just three blocks from my house (which tastes quite delish and brought out all the neighbors whom I hadn't seen) and now a perfectly typical coffee shop that harkened back to the Filter of old.

Tonight I embark back on my rehearsal journey with the William Ferris Chorale. It reminds that spring is a busy time, but I'm welcoming it.

I want to be...

this guy.








I'm serious.

Breaking Patterns

Yesterday I took a health/mental health day. The truth of the matter is I've been feeling a bit run down and when you combine that with the overall winter blahs, it was best for me to just take a day and regroup.

Overall, it was a really nice day to myself. I did my best to not do things that I felt like I have to do because I am typically only afforded one true day off and week and that day I usually am required to dedicate to do things that I have to do... you know, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. But yesterday I did my best to not do these things and do things that were for me and not out of obligation.

My frustration today is that I don't necessarily feel renewed or restored. I felt great yesterday, but today I feel right back where I was.

I think the body learns patterns... well maybe the mind and the body learn patterns and my patterns are frustrating sometimes. I don't always know how to break them. This is why sometimes I try and make lists and check things off because if I can make sure I will complete certain tasks then maybe it can break certain patterns.

I watched No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain with the ladies last night. It was the Chicago episode and I was thinking about the ways in which I really am glad to be in this city. I sometimes grapple with living here for a number of reasons and I don't know that Chicago will always be my place of residence, but as I watched Anthony wax poetic about the city which I have occupied now for over five years I couldn't quite think of myself anywhere else. There is an embodiment and energy here of a lot of things I stand for... for better or worse and it was fun to hear someone, not from here, be able to articulate those things. I would argue that some of these notions are largely midwestern, but I think when you add the global ness of living in a metropolis it synthesizes something that is in my head.

In other completely unrelated news, I loathe biting into a "mealy" apple.

Two more filled.

I had two more cavities filled yesterday. I convey this information with a sense of slight pride because the dentist told me we are nearing the end of my seemingly never ending dental work. I would be curious to know in total the number of hours and the many dollars I have logged through the last two and a half years of consistent dental visits. Yesterday alone cost me $164 which, when considering the over $600 price tag of my visit, it aint that much. But regardless, I'd rather be spending it on something else.

I did watch the Superbowl this weekend, maybe as another escape mechanism from completing school work, but I watched it and I enjoyed it. Especially the end. Those are moments in sports that I can relate to. I don't need to be invested in either team to know that there is a lot on the line and participants are planning and hoping to have their desired outcome. Wow. If I weren't me right now, I'd totally beat me up for just explaining it like that. But yea, it was a good game and I was in good company with good beer, veggie chili and delicious brownies.

I didn't end up taking in The Wrestler. It is as though that movie does not want me to see it. I can't seem to get there. Saturday ended up being a night of good company and delicious sushi at Mirai. Charlie and I ventured in even though I've always felt a bit intimidated by this place. I think in my head sushi should not be that expensive and I've always heard this place was. Turns out, not too bad. Honestly, the only thing bad about the evening was our service.

Today, I'm kinda not feelin' it. Yesterday every spare moment was commited to writing a paper and today I find myself not doing much and wishing I had a warm trip to look forward to, but alas all I can see is a big tax payment.