Stu News and Photos

Things are good with me, how's by you?

Summer has started, the relaxing has commenced, the driving the kids to a variety of activities has begun.

Speaking of the kids, both their report cards were awesome - Noelle got straight As (even an A in Algebra, which was and always will be an impossibility for me) and Nich's cumulative GPA is 4.167, so I'm pretty happy.

Leslie is super-busy at work (nothing new) and now has to cover the Hong Kong phone conferences, which means that she'll be home extra late every Monday and Wednesday for a while. I keep hoping I can do my best to provide her with whatever she needs/wants.

As for me, my email is now functional, so if you sent me anything last week, feel free to re-send it.

Oh, and if you have any questions about life here in Southern California, feel free to ask - I'm happy to write about new topics.

I spend a noticeable amount of time trying to convince people of the wide swath of Frank Zappa's influence on popular music. Well, just now I was able to add another arrow to my quiver: At the end Both Sides Now, off of the fantastic "Miles Of Isles" by the unparalleled Joni Mitchell, she introduces the band, which is indeed a tremendous band. Included amongst this monster lineup of musicians (including Robin Trower and Tom Scott) are two Zappa sidemen, Max Bennett (on bass) and John Guerin (on drums).

They both were relative unknowns in the pop world, but both were extremely skilled. (As Frank would sing, "...pretty good musicians..." - When Frank was putting the band together for what would become one of several extremely influential albums: Hot Rats (a milestone in the genre of fusion-rock), they both showed up to audition. Frank Zappa auditioned the musicians for every band he ever put together, no matter who they were - he needed to see if they could handle the complexities and nuances of his latest musical numbers. The auditions were as difficult as could be, and both Max Bennett and John Guerin passed, gaining an almost-golden ticket, for serving under Frank Zappa almost guaranteed a musician an unlimited career. Very few who served under Frank ever ran out of job opportunities, and some went on to stardom of their own (among the most famous would be Steve Vai, George Duke, Adrian Belew, Lowell George, to name a few).

Max and John stayed with Frank throughout the recording of Hot Rats, and Max Bennett went on to tour with Zappa for about 4 months after.

After that, they each had note-worthy careers, recording with giants of the pop world: Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Baez, The Monkees... When you left Frank's house, the world was your oyster.

...speaking of oysters, it's back to comic book reading for me -

So, after speaking to 6 different Verizon technicians, it turns out that a separate spam filter had been turned on. Once it was turned off, spam appeared within the first half-hour. This means that I'll start receiving all the mail, including comments on this blog. So, thanks for reading, and let me know if there's anything I can do for you.

Recently I noticed a steep drop-off in the amount of email I am getting. Some folks get through, but where I used to get 50 a day, I am now getting 10. Also, commentors on this blog are not getting their comments sent to me - I see them if I look at my site, but the comment doesn't reach my inbox, at least not all of them. So, first, if you have sent me mail and have not heard back, please send it again. Second, would you be so kind as to comment here - just say any old thing.

Thanks!

For those who haven't seen the news, the US Supreme Court just struck down a handgun ban in Washington, DC. The reason cited? The ban was incompatible with the 2nd Amendment. So then that's that, we need to repeal the 2nd Amendment. It's time. Take away all the guns, allow slingshots instead. (While I'm non-violent, I get it that some folks don't respond to a kind word in all situations.) Slingshots won't kill you, but if a police officer is confronting a mugger, a few zots from a slingshot loaded with steel balls would probably be enough to stop the criminal. And isn't that the idea, to stop killing people? 'Cause, y'know, you can't apologize to a corpse if you feel bad about killing them. Dead is Dead.

What's your current favorite Beatles song that wasn't ever a real hit - And not just radio, but any social form of a hit - You know, that song that you love, but if you talk to others about their favorite Beatles songs, they never mention it? That's the one.

For me, it's Teddy Boy. Yes, I know that it wasn't released on an official Beatles record (other than Anthology), but it was scheduled to appear on Let It Be, and it was recorded by them, so I count it as an official song.

Anyway, that's my attempt at a thought-provoker. Thanks for all the fish.

Friday night, at sunset, we Jews have our Sabbath, our Shabbot. A day of rest. Now, in our family, we don't go to services. Instead, we pray at home, and then do our best to really *rest* - to avoid work of any sort. That includes anything that requires work in any way - so no fire, no driving, no tv, no computer, etc. We may cheat every once in a while, but the aforementioned is our intent.

This weekend, we took Shabbat a step further - we slept outside, in our backyard. After lighting candles and drinking the fruit of the vine, and after reading Y'hi Ratzon, we gathered books and other items and headed out to the tent. We talked, we took turns reading from The Stand, we looked at the stars, we listened to the sounds of our neighborhood, we slept.

It was so beautiful that we did it again Saturday night. And while my back may be looking forward to a night on our Sealy, the rest of me was sad to see the tent come down.

So, I was away for a while - I bought a Hackintosh and it took a while for it to stop acting up.

For those who read my blog via email, feel free to load it in your browser, as I've changed its appearance.

Also, if you're interested, my latest GNMParents column is an anti-column, so if you're of a mind, and if you've got a hankering for something short and cute, check out the video I found and posted in place of a real essay.

It's Father's Day, 2008, and my kids are in Las Vegas with their father. Interesting time in my life. I thought I'd be sad, but I feel at peace with it. Their father is a fine man and he cares for them a great deal. I respect that a lot, and I'm cool with anyone who loves my kids. Yeah, it would be nice if they were with me, but then again, I'm not with my dad today, so it is what it is.

I kinda wish that Nich and Noelle were my biological children, but I'm not sure that would make them any less my children. Maybe I'd have a more satisfied ego, but that's just not a major goal for me. I'm happy to trade biology and a potentially different life for being a step-parent to two magnificent children.

And, Happy Father's Day to my dad - he's an extraordinary father - he gives all of himself every day, making others happy, both his family and his friends. He always has a smile for people, and is as funny as the day is long. He is my role-model for my own parenting and I am eternally grateful for the inspiration.

Living in Los Angeles brings with it a certain pull towards the philosophical heart of the city, the heart of its culture. As such, I've taken to having a Hollywood pitch in my brain, in my cranial back-pocket, if you will. - Here's my latest pitch: A reality show centered around a neighborhood Mom & Pop hardware store, with a bar in the back.

Obviously it's got a wonderful "regular-guy" sensibility, either one which is actually lived or one that is aspired to by most men (I fall into the latter category). But then, after small-talk about gutters and champhers and l-pipes, the fourth beer is consumed and the innocent comment about roofers being more important than electricians, and suddenly you're faced with a store full of sharp (and blunt) instruments and drunk guys.

So, not a great idea.

But I wonder... What about a bar inside a nail salon?

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, of whom I'm a big fan, initiated formal proceedings of Impeachment against President George W. Bush for lying to the American people in order to convince us to go to war in Iraq. The impeachment won't go anywhere, but I do so admire Representative Kucinich for having the courage to do what's right. It is therefore seemingly appropriate that I present If by Rudyard Kipling:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!

Guns are not needed - let's all agree to put them down and use a bow and arrow or a fishing line if we get hungry.

June 9, 2008

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Authorities say a four-year-old girl from Salley is recovering after she grabbed a gun out of her grandmother's purse and shot herself in the Harbison Blvd. Sam's Club Monday.

Read the rest...

Been a little busier of late, which is why I haven't been blogging as much.

Kids are finishing school - big priority - 8 real days left - much studying and learning - I am staying on top of them, without becoming a kyoikumama.

Leslie just finished a week or so of pre-Toy Fair prep. She would leave the house by 7:30am and not arrive home again until almost 11pm. So there was extra busy work for me, just to help her stay focused on her mammoth, nigh-Sisyphean effort. Bless her heart for bearing up under the stress - she's a role model for me. Anyway, lots of extra stuff during that time, extra chores, extra kid-time, buying Leslie flowers and her favorite coffee and stuff like that - busy, but worth it - I find providing for others very nourishing.

Then, when all of that is dealt with, I am focusing on how I spend my non-work time. Certainly GNMParents is on the fence there, as it's not a have-to in the same way as it is to stay on top of the kids' academic progress, but yet I still feel like it's a job. However, it doesn't take that much time each day, maybe a half hour to an hour. That still leaves me with four to eight hours of free-time (as we used to say during Encampment).

That free-time is precious to me. And lately, as the kids are less of a worry for me, I've had more time to think about myself and what I'm doing, a chance to rediscover my priorities.

Now, Leslie and the kids are at the top of the list. If I have a chance, and they are willing, I will want to spend time with them before whatever it is that is second choice. Now, sometimes Leslie is at work (or painting) and the kids are at school or getting their own alone-time (studying, tv, text-messaging, internet)... This opens me up to other possibilities, other choices.

My current choices have changed a little bit, but nothing major. I now spend my down-time reading comic books, playing World of Warcraft, reading about Richard Nixon and about Watergate, reading other history books of the 20th century, reading novels (Survivor is starting off great), composing music, listening to music, reading news and analysis, watching the financial markets, and watching a few films now and again.

Anyway, all of the above is my clumsy way of apologizing to any of you that i have neglected. If you like, put your questions or diatribes in these comments, I'm super-mega-ultra-mucho happy to hear from you.

I was born in March of 1967 - this makes me 41, or almost 500 months old.

I was taking a walk today, trying to get some exercise, as my day has become very sedentary: music composition, text editing and composing, reading, sleeping... So I'm trying to get out of the house every day, to walk for a half hour or an hour if I can squeak out the effort.

Today's walk brought with it the opportunity to reflect. And it occurred to me, on that walk, that I was ok, that I was living on the high plains. I have my wife, who is perfect. I have my kids, who are perfect. I have food, shelter, enough extra to buy a book or a phone or a CD or a comic book. I am composing, I am living the life of an artist. I am housecleaning, I am living the life of a wife. I am negotiating, I am living the life of a parent. I have no other wants.

I know this may change, and I am comfortable with this knowledge, as I also have the knowledge that I have taken the summit of the mountain of my own design.

As you know, I am deeply connected to having a Democratic trifecta, and today was a wonderful step in that direction. Specifically, I'm referring to Senator McCean's strategic blunder.

If you haven't seen or heard it, Senator McCean gave a speech today, and here's what he said:

"No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically.

But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change, between going forward and going backward."

Here's two reasons why it's a mistake - One, no one likes to be labeled. He's suggesting that if you vote for him, you are right. And, if you don't vote for him, you are wrong. No one escapes this dull knife. That's not the way to curry favor with the electorate. - Two, he's not-so-subtly labeling his voters as right-wing. Now, the folks who would normally vote for him probably would be ok with "conservative" or "moderate" or "traditionalist," but not "right-wing."

So Senator McCean has now given me incredible confidence that we will have a Democratic President, to wonderfully compliment a Democratic Congress. Change will happen, change that will provide a far-leveler playing field for all Americans.

Image from NASA's Image Of The Day gallery

President John F. Kennedy, 1962

Santa Monica, CA

Also, if you want to add the GNMParents feed link to your favorite customizable home page (I use a few, including MyYahoo), here it is:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/gnmparents

Thanks!