I just finished re-reading Kurt Vonnegut's brilliant book Timequake, in which the universe--suffering from its own existential crisis of whether or not to continue expanding--sets the clock back ten years, thus forcing everyone to relive the last decade as slaves to the events of their own histories. In other words, they had no free will, no power to change anything that had happened the first time around, trapped as an observer in their own bodies as they powerlessly made the same mistakes in the same ways, trapped on third-person autopilot.

When free will returned, the people were stunned and didn't know how to continue. People didn't realize that now they had to continue walking and so stumbled. They didn't realize they had to actually continue driving their vehicle, so they crashed. They had been on automatic pilot for so long that they couldn't recognize the moment it stopped. Chaos in the world was growing at an alarming rate, and people didn't realize they were again able to make their own decisions without knowing what would happen next.

Kilgore Trout, Vonnegut's mirror and greatest literary creation, was among the first to realize the return of free will and in an unusually heroic move set out to help others awake from their paralysis. At first his cry of "Wake up! For God's sake, wake up, wake up! Free will! Free will!" fell on deaf ears. The message didn't sink in.

Realizing there were lives to save, he tried something else. It worked. The message sunk in immediately, and people snapped out from their stupors and began thinking again. What he told people was this: "You were sick, but now you're well, and there's work to do."

This morning I am reflecting upon the last eight years, awash in the glow of the sun peaking out through the Rocky Mountains directly to my west, awash in the glow of change and moved by the promise of it, and for the first time in a long time I feel the warmth of hope. It almost doesn't matter if Obama lives up to that promise or fails utterly, because right now the people are energized in a way I've never seen them, and that kind of feeling is transformative in ways that politics can't even approach.

Yes, it's been a long eight years, my friends, but now you're well, and there's work to do.

Current Mood: jubilant

Hi folks,

It's been an interesting couple of months for us with some wonderful things ahead now... There are a few upcoming performances Melissa has put together here in Denver, where she'll be joined on stage by some of the best Colorado talent.

For those of you who might not be able to see these, here's a chance to listen (at least to Melissa) live around the world:

Who: Melissa
What: KRFC Live@Lunch radio broadcast
When: Monday, June 2nd from 12-1pm MST (11am-12noon PST / 2-4pm EST / 7pm GMT / 8pm West Europe)
Where: 88.9 FM Fort Collins, CO

Listen live online worldwide at www.KRFCfm.org

Melissa will perform her music, play a few recorded tracks, and be interviewed about the other music/arts endeavors we've been working on, all live on KRFC FM. We'll do our best to get this recorded for anyone who wants to hear it but can't tune in during this timeframe.

Thanks for your support!

Tags: live, music, performance, radio

I dreamed of it - or, rather, I sang about dreaming about it - and now we have a white Christmas. That makes two in a row!

Tags: christmas, snow

I still don't get this LOLCats phenomenon. I don't find them cute or funny. I, in fact, find them incredibly stupid. I don't understand why people who have shown themselves to be individual creative thinkers have grasped on to this internet trend and embraced it like everyone else hasn't. I'd rather look at tubgirl again then have to bear looking at another unfunny cat photo with a stupid caption in forced broken English.

In other news, there's too much to blog about and no time to do so.

Tags: internet trends

"Born On The Fifth Of November"
by Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine

There was November in your eyes
There'd be no pennies for the guys
There were fireworks over London
But you weren't among them anymore

When it got darker the nightmares came
I lit a sparkler to write your name
There were fireworks over London
You weren't among them anymore

Because you're too beautiful
Gunpowder is louder that's all

You should never play with fireworks
You might get your fingers burned
The blue touch paper brings a touch of violence
But you'll never learn

Because you're too beautiful
Gunpowder is louder that's all

Beautiful
That's what the fireworks are for
Yes, you're beautiful
You're so beautiful
Too beautiful for such an ugly world

Tags: carter usm, holidays, lyrics
Current Music: "Born On The Fifth Of November" by Carter USM

I don't usually do these things, but, c'mon... it's perfect.

Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) You are a light and humorous person. No one can help but to smile to your wit. Now if only the improbability drive would stop turning you into weird stuff. Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) 100% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 81% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 75% Serenity (Firefly) 75% Moya (Farscape) 75% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 69% SG-1 (Stargate) 63% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 56% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 56% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 38% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 38% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 31% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 31%

I'm just glad it didn't pick one of the many shows listed that I've never seen.

Tags: polls, scifi

It's so very interesting to go back in time two years and re-read all the entries around the time hurricane Wilma hit. I left numerous voice posts during the ten days I was without electricity, but my favorite one is this (which you'll have to listen to without transcription because it's better that way): http://www.livejournal.com/voicepost/transcribe.bml?user=galador42&ppid=8454

I'd say this was a pretty debilitating time made worse by how Katrina continued to overshadow what happened. Here's my post describing Post-Hurricane Depression.

Those of you who experienced Wilma, what do you think of now when you think back on it?

Tags: hurricane wilma, hurricanes, memories

Will the Rockies rock their sox off?
Or will the Red Sox get their rocks off?

Time will tell.

It's exciting to be back in a city that is gearing up for the world series, reminding me of the Marlins run back in 2003. I'm not going to any of the games, and I won't be watching them, but I'll vicariously enjoy the series through other people.

Tags: baseball, boston red sox, colorado rockies, florida marlins, sports, world series

Yesterday afternoon it was 80 degrees out, and now it's snowing. Tha's crazy, man.

Tags: snow
Current Music: "Ghost Town" by The Specials

We're getting ready to re-open our wedding website, but it will be password protected. If you'd like to learn about our Big Day and see lots of cooleroo pictures, please fill out the below poll with your best e-mail address. I'm excited about being able to share them!

Poll #1063211 Wedding Access
Open to: Friends, detailed results viewable to: None

Sure, James, I would like to see your wedding photos! Here's my e-mail address:

Also, I finished my friends cut. There were some people who didn't respond that I still enjoy reading, so I'm assuming they either missed my poll, or don't like me. If you're one of those who ended up cut and desperately want to be uncut, let me know here. I may have made some goofs.

Tags: polls, websites, wedding

I read this morning that the mayor of Englewood (a suburb of Denver) suddenly passed away yesterday. This makes me a little sad, actually, because she was the first mayor I'd ever met and seemed like such a sweet person. She was 54.

Many months ago, Melissa and I went to a big band performance at the Englewood Civic Center -- a beautiful complex in the middle of town dedicated to raising the awareness of the arts in that community -- and afterwards we were approached by a tiny woman who asked us what we were covering (she noticed our press badges). We told her why we were there, and she introduced herself as the Mayor of Englewood. She chatted with us a bit. As the article points out, she used to be the owner of a pottery store with her husband, and she became very active in Englewood schools teaching art. Recently, she was instrumental in obtaining a $1 million grant to teach mathematics through art. I think that somehow we lost one of the good ones.

In the next couple of weeks I'll be scheduled to sit down and interview John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver, so I guess I've had mayors on the mind.

Tags: deaths, englewood, mayors

French Polynesia (four islands) - CHECK
The open Pacific ocean - CHECK
Christmas Island (Kirabati) - CHECK
Hawaii (four islands) - CHECK
San Francisco (airport) - CHECK

Okay, what's next?

Tags: bunnymoon, travels

We are officially following our bliss. Everything was perfect and magical. :)

Tags: wedding

I was sent not one, but two free copies of the new Potter book. I guess I'll exchange one at Barnes & Noble for something else.

Tags: amazon, books, harry potter

We saw the Polyphonic Spree in concert again last Sunday. It was a mind-blowing show, a truly moving experience to everyone in the venue. If they ever come anywhere near you, go see them -- even if you've never heard their stuff.

A couple of fun highlights:

- Tim DeLaughter noticed a person taking pictures with his little camera, so he beckoned for it, took the camera from him, and proceeded to take a bunch of photos of himself, the spree, and the audience before returning it.

- During the first encore, Tim was so impressed with the energy of a man up front (who had been dancing and singing along all night) that he pulled him up on stage and had him sing the final chorus of "Hold Me Now" as a duet. (See more about this in my upcoming article.)

- Tim came down into the audience a couple of different times to sing. At one point, he announced that the audience was the show and the Spree was the audience, and he encouraged us to sing louder to entertain the group (who were still onstage, obviously).

- The bulk of the show contained material from their new album The Fragile Army, and they wore the accompanying uniforms that looked militaristic in nature, but contained hearts sewn on them. At the beginning of the encore, the re-emerged wearing their now iconic white robes with colored hems. The went back to the stage by walking through the audience, not by coming from the stage. This meant that all 22 of them had to change, walk around the back of the theatre, and re-enter it from the front door to come inside behind the crowd. What must that have looked like to people driving by at the time??

- Of course we met him after the show.

This time we brought our own photographer: http://www.rockymountainjazz.com/photos/spree/5%20star/index.html

Tags: colorado music buzz, concerts, gothic theatre, photos, polyphonic spree, reviews

Amazon wrote back and said the book was lost in transit. It's being shipped out anew, and I should receive it by Friday. Geez, how could they bungle the biggest book release in history? I wonder how many other people had their book "lost in transit."

Tags: amazon, books, harry potter
Current Mood: annoyed

My book was not downstairs at the apartment complex office, as I had assumed. Instead, it was something else from somewhere else having nothing to do with Amazon. Imagine my frustration when I came back upstairs, checked my Amazon account tracking, and read that the item was delivered yesterday morning at 9:57am.

I immediately called Amazon customer service, and the rep (from Southeast Asia) explained to me that it was "probably" delivered to the post office yesterday and would "probably" be delivered on tomorrow. He told me I should call my post office today to check, to which I responded that the post office is closed on Sundays in the States. He recommended I try tomorrow morning, instead. He also processed a full refund on the book, so it would appear that I'm getting Book 7 for free, woo.

Of course, I'm still going to pursue the larger issue of why they dropped the ball so badly here.

Tags: amazon, annoyances, books, complaints, deliveries, harry potter, mail, ups, usps

I find it extremely irresponsible of Amazon to promise delivery of a product on a particular day via a particular shipping service (in this case UPS), only to breach that trust by shipping it USPS without notifying the recipient. After losing a day of work (a net amount equal to $***.**) to specifically wait around for my delivery of the final Harry Potter book in the hopes that I could spend today and Sunday reading it, I was shocked to discover that the delivery was instead entrusted to the USPS without my knowledge or consent. Sadly, when I checked my mailbox around 6:15pm, I discovered a note explaining that the parcel was left at the front office of my apartment complex -- which closed at 5pm today and will not re-open until Monday morning. If I had been alerted to the change in shipping methods, I could have spent the last several hours enjoying my purchase. Now I'm out over *** dollars in pay and have no product to show for it.

I am certain that others have been similarly affected and would like to know what changes Amazon will be making to ensure this sort of debacle does not occur again and what kind of compensation for my loss of time and funds I can expect.

Amazon Prime Customer

Yes, I exaggerated a little. The apartment complex will be open on Sunday, and I'm not really out the pay, although I did take the afternoon off.

Tags: amazon, annoyances, books, complaints, deliveries, harry potter, mail, ups, usps
Current Mood: irritated

This annual attempt to cram nationalism "patriotism" down my throat really unnerves me. Every time I get one of those e-mails or read one of those LJ messages that talks about how our thoughts should be with soldiers, I cringe. How can I possibly respect someone who believes violence and murder is sometimes okay? that war is an acceptable vehicle of change? They're not fighting for my freedom. The only person qualified to fight for my freedom is me. The jingoistic American disease of patriotism, as though America is the world and we should only acknowledge that perspective, is insulting to our humanity. The illusion of independence was imposed upon us so we would not notice when the chains were attached.

For those of you who are angered and insulted by my opinion, good. If you believe so strongly in these freedoms that are supposedly being "protected" by someone who volunteered to pick up a rifle and potentially kill people (and for those in support positions, is killing not exactly what their work supports?), then I dare you to consider my opinion before reacting in haste... because as those troops facilitate the murder of families, they also secure me the right to speak my mind, right?

And, if you believe in God, in freedom, or whatever it is that drives people to support and spread this kind of blatant propaganda, then go back and read the words that uphold your faith. I challenge you to find the language that truly resonates throughout your body, mind, heart, and soul with the message: "in this case, it's okay to kill."

...

If I sound angry about it, it's not necessarily the case. Most know me to be a pretty optimistic and positive person, and that's because generally I am. I don't spend a lot of time dwelling on this, I'm just annoyed. If anything, maybe I hope to shock people into realizing that not everyone thinks like they do. I know mine is an unpopular opinion, but there are others like me out there, perhaps others on your friends list, and it would be folly to expect them to all believe the same thing, blindly loving America because they've been trained to do so their entire lives.

I do, however, love you.

Tags: america, free speech, freedom, independence day, unpopular opinions, war
Current Mood: irritated

Hey there, music fans! There's a new issue of Colorado Music Buzz magazine available! If you're not living in Colorado and can't get your hands on one, why not sign up for a subscription over at the CMB website? Anyhow, I also recommend you check out the newly revamped MySpace site. There's a music player on there that has some really fantastic tunes, so load it up and listen while you browse in another window. Let me know what you think!

Pretty soon there'll be a nice content-filled website where you'll be able to access all of, most of, or more than what's available in the magazine.

Anyhow, this issue is a home run. More news on the horizon, but nothing I can talk about yet -- mostly because the people who know are not able to talk to me about it yet.

Tags: colorado music buzz
Current Mood: chipper