Starving for Innuendo

Sweetness is best with a tinge of spice or salt.
Spice is best when it is deep and consistent.
Bland can alway be nudged subtly in to comfort.
Complicated needs only the simplest pairing.
Loud needs its own place.
Soft wants a little crisp.

The Things That Scare Us

Meeting in the night unexpectedly
Without any expectation speaking readily
Building toothpick fences for playing card houses

Meeting in the morning anxiously
Riding our lives to summit snowy peaks
Ignoring catastrophe while it speaks, speaks, speaks

Joining together day in and night
Learning all the tricks
Making paper airplanes from thorny drying sticks

Playing like children in the park, the pool, and surf
Feeding inner children with dinner and dessert
Memory strips like paper clips trampled in the dirt

The good times become worst
When perfect bubbles burst
These things that scare us
Surely aren't the first.

Besos fríos

The late summer heat
Could barely compete
With the love that we had

Oh sweet Summer's end
Too cold to pretend
A new sun will rise again

Once warmth and grace
Fall snowflakes of lace
Cold kisses all that I feel

No matter how much I miss
The warmth of your kiss
My heart, like yours, is as steel

Forever Swing

You poor thing
Living in pain
Twisting every ray of sun
In to cold ruthless rain

You tortured soul
Digging your hole
Tying each moment
With desperate control

That song you sing
While you swing
You took it all
You poor little thing

Reflections by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

On the surface of a swift-flowing stream the reflections of things near or far are always indistinct; even if the water is clear and has no foam, reflections in the constant stream of ripples, the restless kaleidoscope of water, are still uncertain, vague, incomprehensible.

Only when the water has flowed down river after river and reaches a broad, calm estuary or comes to rest in some backwater or a small, still lake- only then can we see in its mirrorlike smoothness every leaf of a tree on the bank, every wisp of a cloud, and the deep blue expanse of the sky.

It is the same with our lives. If so far we have been unable to see clearly or to reflect the eternal lineaments of truth, is it not because we too are still moving towards some end- because we are still alive?

Besitos y Abrazos

It was as if we disappeared when we kissed. When we danced we were the only ones at the party and the music was only the sound of our laughter. Each step we took was pure attraction like two magnets spinning pushing each other away and then pulling back. I could have sat on the well for hours. I forgot where I was and if it weren't for the applause I might still be there. How symbolic to kiss on a well- the source of pure water. How symbolic for friends to applaud our love before they understand it. There was something beaming from us that commanded applause. Something true. A pure spring of love in a world that is dry as the desert.

CALL OR TEXT ME ABOUT TONIGHT! LOVE YA!

Check out Jameson

Yet another wonderful discovery. Check out my most recent article on the beloved Jameson at CountryMusicPride.com

Then visit his MySpace and give him some love.

While you are at it check out Steve Carson Band, Billy Kernkamp, Barrett Johnson, Justin Grennan, Annie Bethancourt, and the man behind Billy's, Barrett's, Justin's, and Annie's beautiful sounds and recordings Dallas Kruse of Orange County's Zion Studios.

Orange County's Art Momentum is ready. Get in it now before it goes on the road!

Tie Them to the Anchor Man

Is anybody else sick of broadcast news?

I mean really sick. I was at the gym today and while I was listening to my music and warming up on the elliptical machine I was watching the news. Even with no sound I was so completely annoyed by the content. Body found, Michael Jackson's death, some other nondescript person murdered. This is the news.

Who cares about this stuff? Who pays for this nonsense? When did news become simply a morgue list from most tragic to least tragic? How can I find out what is going on in the EU? What is happening in Russia? Aren't we at war??

Besides, if someone I knew died, was murdered, etc would I really want their drivers license picture all over the television? The news is nothing but a glorification of tragedy and an expensive source for pointless information. I am glad it is dying a slow painful death to web-based information sources. I only hope this happens sooner then later.

Please respond with your favorite web-based information resources. Enlighten us all and save us from the stupidity that is broadcast news.

Stop, Collaborate, and Listen

I have been stopping myself from writing. Lately I have been on such a high from encouragement and love but I have been low on inspiration. I am a low maintenance guy. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Sometimes this translates to me if you don't feel like it blow it off. The inevitable conflict always arises when my dreams collide with working to obtain them. There is rarely a good feeling in work. Work is work. The only exception I have found to this in in those moments of writing where the fingers are moving without a thought and in music where the notes are being played but my mind is somewhere peaceful.

I had a thought a little while ago when I was speaking of art with my friend Del. The most beautiful things in this world are in one instant horrifying and in the same instant heavenly. Take the sunset for instance, our daily art show, a giant mass of exploding energy sending heat thousands of light years to sustain our life is simply orbiting out of sight leaving the beautiful oranges, reds, and blues for our enjoyment. I also like extraordinarily large waves. Reckless walls of wind-stirred water forced to the shallows in whites, blues, and greens pounding the floor with incredible force. When you can feel the waves hit the sand that is when you know what I am talking about.

Also, art is reproducing a subject in your unique way. Art is joining yourself to a subject and creating a reproduction. So, in a way, a balance must be maintained when you professionally create. A consistent maintenance of self and a sensitive awareness of what is outside of yourself.

I think I am due for a lube job.

Up On The Roof

I love my balcony.

Living in an up and coming Orange County city such as Santa Ana I live in such a great niche. There is a buzzing metropolis around me. The infamous Orange Crush, where the 5, 57, 55, and 22 freeways merge, and the new booming mall, Disneyland and surrounding area are crazy, but my little niche is just far enough away. I can see Disney's fireworks at 9:30pm nightly while kicking back in the cool August breeze off the ocean night after night. I get to watch the palms trees sway and my flowers grow.

I can reminisce on the old glories of the high-school days with my beautiful married roommates over a lovingly cooked dinner and wine as the moon shines. I can pray and reflect with a self-rolled cigarette in the still of the night without any interruption.

Sure, I can hear the neighbors sneeze and their children bustle about every once in a while, but right now I wouldn't have it any other way. I am very blessed.

For Some Country Lovin'

I was honored with the opportunity to contribute to a friends music webzine, Country Music Pride. If you fancy, you can check out my article here. This site is an incredible resource for everything country music related and beyond and the beyond is what I love about it.

Truly though, can the country be taken out of rock?

Jesus Freakin on a Theological Tuesday

Personally, there is nothing inside of me that agrees with the term Jesus Freak. The implications of such terminology as supported in the song, “Jesus Freak,” written by Toby McKeehan and Mark Heimermann was a quite popular song in the world when I was younger. It has never inspired me, until now.

The Southern Californian post Jesus-Culture church of the late 70’s in my opinion had a radicalized post-hippy extremist view of Jesus’ role in counter culture. Where terms like, “Real Men Love Jesus, His Pain Your Gain, and My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter,” came from. There were T-shirts, stickers, and a mass media explosion of terminologies, theologies, and cultural views of Jesus that were created in this time. I propose this is the reason why my generation hates Jesus and I don’t blame them.

This transition was hell-bent on teaching it’s ideals that, in my opinion, were angry, prideful, and thus silly. They worked to propel a movement that is now near extinction just like Muscle T’s and Mullets. Thank God.

People base their understanding of Christianity off of the only movement they have experienced. It makes sense. If all you know is the last 20 years of Christianity and you have tried reading the Bible in that context it is easy to spot a farce, a generally useless book, and an empty hopeless world without a God. Why would anyone embrace a world of holier then thou people and empty fear-filled followers that have divorced their God given personalities and passions to saturate their minds in half-assed theological study? I will quote my roommate Matt here, “God doesn’t need more lawyers to defend him; he needs more servants to serve him.” There is a place for apologetics but it is an expertise. Take Ravi Zacharias for an example he is one of the most brilliant men in the world. Check him out.

Then there are other people who I have experienced who continually obsess over the crimes of Christianity past. It seems there is some kind of validation or justification of hating modern Christianity based off of not only its current state but also the Crusades. The Crusades? Really? The Crusades? In my mind that is like hating France and the French for the Napoleonic Wars, hating Germany and Germans for WW1, and hating Rome, Italians, and Latin for Rome’s near domination of the ancient world. Securus Te Projice. ¡Por favor!

So as you can see there is nothing wrong with acknowledging that lovers of Jesus may be viewed as radical, uncultured, or even outcasts, but the glory is not there (obviously!!). There is no pride in being a freak. However, being faithful, joyful, loving, peaceful, patient, kind, good, and gentle is enough reason to believe isn’t it? I often wonder at the possibility of this reality. These are certainly triumphs and worthy victories for any human life.

What will people think if they hear I am a Jesus freak? That statement is a trap like: Does your mom know you are dumb? or Do your friends know you are stupid? It is time to move past these self-imposed cultural stereotypes and become a people who are honest with themselves and others in saying we are all human. There ain’t no disguising the truth.

Music Monday Success!

Today was my first Music Monday. This may require some explanation... This whole idea has been constantly on my mind to create activity days for myself so that I can spend each day of the week devoted in focus to one overarching theme, thus Mondays are now Music Mondays.

It started yesterday as I created a massive brainstorm session in which I isolated about 7 items that make me happy and proceeded to label each day of the week according to one of each interest. So instead of waking up in the morning and wanting to do all seven things at once and then blowing off everything to go to the beach I now have a semblance of structure.

Brainstorm Below:













So for music Monday I:
- Played bass for about an hour. Mostly some Wilco, a little Weezer, and a sad attempt at some Brubeck Jazz
- Ate breakfast burrito of my own making
- Went to Barnes & Noble and did some Music Magazine snooping
- Read the beginning of a book called A Musician's Guide to Reading and Writing Music while getting my car washed
- Went Shopping
- Went to the gym and listened to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust by Bowie (CD of the day)
- Listened to a great podcast by Kris Vallotton
- Had a protein shake and a salad for dinner!
- Shared a bottle of wine with my roomies
- Played a little guitar

So over all it was an amazing day.

I know there are a couple non-music oriented activities on there... let me explain. Obviously I have to eat... and the breakfast burrito was exciting enough for me to mention. My Magazine snooping is considered research. Any real rockstar will tell you that it is important to have a clean car, and that going to the gym is a must. Take Usher as an example: He has a strict eating regimen, mandatory workout routine, private chefs, and STILL gets lipo on his stomach to pull off his look. Now I would be lying if I said I didn't want his abs, but truly I am not interested in that sort of lifestyle just to parade in my underwear in front of thousands of women every year.

The only six pack I want (if that is what it takes) is actually an 18 pack of my favorite new beer from Fresh and Easy!

It tastes like Corona but is 1/3 of the price. I love you Freezy.

Enough commercials already... I am happy with my Music Monday and am very much looking forward to see what Theological Tuesday will bring!

Reach for the Stars

I am in love with a dream...
and for someone who really loves being in love
I suppose there could be worse things.