This summer has been the wettest I can remember. I do not mind the rain much but would rather sit outside on my balcony reading than be inside. I really need to purchase a few new books because my unread selection is lacking. If I had a couple of grand to drop on books, I would buy everyone on my list and disappear inside them.
Today we didn't get more than a few drops of rain but the humidity is annoying. I suppose in a perfect world it would be 22 or 23 Celsius each day with a little breeze and lots of sun. I have never lived in a perfect world, you might or might have.
I will be happy when the baseball trade deadline passes Friday, all the speculation is getting to be a bit much. I guess because around here it greatly involves a classless bum like J.P. Riccardi and a classy pitcher like Roy Halladay. He should trade him from a baseball business decision but he should never have been allowed to get to this point with this team. Ground Zero is the only hope for the Blue Jays, rebuild and see what happens in 4 or 5 years without Riccardi and Halladay.
I really need to start watching some good movies again, it has been so long. I tend to stay in bubbles longer than necessary, very little gets in and very little gets out.
I wrote the following last night.
Sliver
The night is not for writing
Earth’s moon is but a sliver
Replicate of my confidence
The night is for considering
Tossing and turning in bed
Kept up by Earth’s oceans
The morning is for sleeping
Waking only opens wounds
Earth’s sun is but a mirror
No longer reflecting smiles
I have almost disappeared
Without needing to return
All the dusty books boxed
Fingerprints left on covers
Earth’s satellites spinning
Showing us how far away
We are from anyone else
Dots on various horizons
Spread across landscapes
Drawn, imaged or natural
All the good dreams lost
Heartbreaks left on souls
Earth’s dwellers weeping
The night is not for loving
Nothing but a sliver lasts.
28 July 2009
Below is another 10 set of Counting Crows related live performances, especially of note this time is the poignant and rarely played Carriage aided by Jim Bogios father Chris on trumpet, very moving.
Angels of the Silences
Rotterdam, Netherlands
May 4, 2009
Cowboys
Rotterdam, Netherlands
May 4, 2009
Up All Night (Frankie Miller Goes To Hollywood)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
May 4, 2009
Carriage
Berkeley, California
July 26, 2009
Mercury
Adelaide, Australia
March 26, 2009
Mr. Jones
Berkeley, California
July 26, 2009
Cecilia with Augustana
Berkeley, California
July 26, 2009
Washington Square with Dan Layus of Augustana
Berkeley, California
July 26, 2009
Miami
Berkeley, California
July 26, 2009
(Pay particular attention to the drunken fan who makes it up on stage during the song and also notice how it does not faze Adam at all)
This Land is Your Land with Augustana and company.
Berkeley, California
July 26, 2009
And so another night fades and the moon is yours, should you need it to illuminate something precious in this life.
jr.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Beneath the sun in the summer, a sea of flowers won`t bloom without the rain....
Below is my favourite song of the moment.
Never Forget You by The Noisettes
I wish it was autumn already, the weather this summer has been crummy and at least if it was autumn we would have the colours.
Accepting and letting go of things out of our control is never easy but once we learn how to it makes living slightly easier. The end of anything does not always have to be sad, it can simply be just a phase in our lives. People come and people go, we leave or we stay, it is all rather random.
I wrote the following earlier this afternoon after being forced inside out of the rain. Though I think I had already had enough of a reading a book written by George W. Bush, even if it was written before his presidency. I can only stomach so much of his politics and false modesty.
The Lost Child of Aquarius
I do not live in a fishbowl
You cannot see me drown
There is privacy to protect
You will not hear from me
The lost child of Aquarius
I will carry water to shore
But no more tears for you
Our past should be burned
The smoke suffocating us
I will choke but never die
Breathing alone is simpler
You horded too much air
Oxygen should be shared
Selfishly you never could
Summer is still maturing
I wonder about your life
Without mirrors and sex
Can whores save beauty
For when youth vanishes
The way mine has lately
Without warning or time
A deadly foe like cancer
Black spots on a screen
I wonder about my life
Old friendships leaving
Their relevance passed
Everything runs a course
I would rather walk alone
Before accepting invites
My soul needs its peace
There are old bad habits
Which should be broken.
24 July 2009
Below is another random live set of Counting Crows related clips.
Blues Run The Game
October 2008
New Jersey
Fire
Augustana with Adam Duritz
July 22, 2009
Temecula, California
High Life
July 2009
Somewhere out in America
Goodnight Elizabeth
July 22, 2009
Temecula, California
Miami (acoustic, a song for Amelia)
July 2009
Somewhere out in America
Why Should You Come When I Call
CC with Michael Franti, Spearhead, Augustana and more.
July 21, 2009
Greek Theatre Los Angeles, California
Time and Time Again (for Isaac Hayes)
August 12, 2008
Saratoga, New York
Black and Blue
June 29, 2009
Columbus, Ohio
Angel From Montgomery
CC with Emmy Rossum and Augustana
July 22, 2009
Temecula, California
This Land is Your Land
CC with Michael Franti, Spearhead, Augustana and more.
July 21, 2009
Greek Theatre Los Angeles, California
The intense summer storm of this afternoon is a memory of thunder cracking, rain pelting, hydro flickering and clocks flashing.
john edward charles....
Never Forget You by The Noisettes
I wish it was autumn already, the weather this summer has been crummy and at least if it was autumn we would have the colours.
Accepting and letting go of things out of our control is never easy but once we learn how to it makes living slightly easier. The end of anything does not always have to be sad, it can simply be just a phase in our lives. People come and people go, we leave or we stay, it is all rather random.
I wrote the following earlier this afternoon after being forced inside out of the rain. Though I think I had already had enough of a reading a book written by George W. Bush, even if it was written before his presidency. I can only stomach so much of his politics and false modesty.
The Lost Child of Aquarius
I do not live in a fishbowl
You cannot see me drown
There is privacy to protect
You will not hear from me
The lost child of Aquarius
I will carry water to shore
But no more tears for you
Our past should be burned
The smoke suffocating us
I will choke but never die
Breathing alone is simpler
You horded too much air
Oxygen should be shared
Selfishly you never could
Summer is still maturing
I wonder about your life
Without mirrors and sex
Can whores save beauty
For when youth vanishes
The way mine has lately
Without warning or time
A deadly foe like cancer
Black spots on a screen
I wonder about my life
Old friendships leaving
Their relevance passed
Everything runs a course
I would rather walk alone
Before accepting invites
My soul needs its peace
There are old bad habits
Which should be broken.
24 July 2009
Below is another random live set of Counting Crows related clips.
Blues Run The Game
October 2008
New Jersey
Fire
Augustana with Adam Duritz
July 22, 2009
Temecula, California
High Life
July 2009
Somewhere out in America
Goodnight Elizabeth
July 22, 2009
Temecula, California
Miami (acoustic, a song for Amelia)
July 2009
Somewhere out in America
Why Should You Come When I Call
CC with Michael Franti, Spearhead, Augustana and more.
July 21, 2009
Greek Theatre Los Angeles, California
Time and Time Again (for Isaac Hayes)
August 12, 2008
Saratoga, New York
Black and Blue
June 29, 2009
Columbus, Ohio
Angel From Montgomery
CC with Emmy Rossum and Augustana
July 22, 2009
Temecula, California
This Land is Your Land
CC with Michael Franti, Spearhead, Augustana and more.
July 21, 2009
Greek Theatre Los Angeles, California
The intense summer storm of this afternoon is a memory of thunder cracking, rain pelting, hydro flickering and clocks flashing.
john edward charles....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Nobody here gets a word that I say and the problems I`m told, are more than medical.......
The Major League Baseball All-Star game was last night and it was actually a rather interesting game. I was going to write enjoyable but my favourite player Roy Halladay got hit hard after getting 5 straight outs before giving up 3 runs. He also had to bat and did not even have his own helmet. As much as he is my favourite player, the Jays need to trade him to get better for the future and he needs to go to a team with a General Manager who knows what he is doing. By the way, the American League won 4-3, and the National League now has not won since 1996.
Below is another 10 set of Counting Crows live performances, the version of a Long December is the best I have heard in years.
When I Dream of Michelangelo
From Sunday Mornings
July 2009 Somewhere out in America
Perfect Blue Buildings
From August and Everything After
August 8, 2007 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Recovering The Satellites
From Recovering The Satellites
May 8, 2009 Dublin, Ireland
New Frontier
From Hard Candy
July 9, 2009 Sarnia, Canada
Hard Candy
From Hard Candy
Summer 2007 Somewhere out in America
Rain King with Augustana
From August and Everything After
September 21, 2008 Seattle, Washington
Daylight Fading
From Recovering The Satellites
May 13, 2009 Birmingham, England
Mr. Jones
From August and Everything After
March 21, 2008 Good Morning America NYC
Miami
From Hard Candy
May 8, 2009 Dublin, Ireland
A Long December
From Recovering The Satellites
August 19, 2008 Toronto, Canada
I wrote the following this afternoon.
Summer is the Currency of the Blowing Breeze
Wrapped up toilet tissues hide our discretions
Polyurethane protecting us from our creations
The barrier between being needy and greedy
A thin walled membrane separating our cells
Defining male and female from boy and girl
The summer children play but eventually age
Their memories are defined by happy or sad
Rarely is a child indifferent like most adults
I am a hoarder of lyrics to my personal songs
A soundtrack for defining moods and seasons
Summer is the currency of the blowing breeze
You might forget but the writer in me cannot
Inspiration visits less frequently than before
I barely recognize myself in the cloudy sky
When the poems are read back to me today
Could a person only script the future to fail
Every potential love dies like vases of roses
Their petals more beautiful as they crumble
Destroying is my answer to others creating
I am a nuance to myself and find it pleasing
This has to be the reason for being faraway
Closeness is like a mirror and they scourge
Emotionally harmful more than physically
The body heals under the sun of a July day
Everything appearing normal on the shore
Under the waves the ocean trembles softly
I walk through the sand leaving footprints
Until the water washes my presence away
The moon is a better friend than the sun
Shadows are more interesting than light
The mind is the mystery worth resolving
Loving will always remain harder for me
Because too much thought has occurred.
15 July 2009
Monday night David Letterman had on a guy who does baseball stances, I found it rather funny.
And last night great music.
You and I Wilco with Feist
Another plane crash today, this time in Iran, it seems it is not safe flying foreign carriers.
Probably just an anomaly.
It has just started to rain here in southern Ontario.
If you are somewhere out in America, check out the circus.
http://www.travelingcircusshow.com/
john.
Below is another 10 set of Counting Crows live performances, the version of a Long December is the best I have heard in years.
When I Dream of Michelangelo
From Sunday Mornings
July 2009 Somewhere out in America
Perfect Blue Buildings
From August and Everything After
August 8, 2007 Tulsa, Oklahoma
Recovering The Satellites
From Recovering The Satellites
May 8, 2009 Dublin, Ireland
New Frontier
From Hard Candy
July 9, 2009 Sarnia, Canada
Hard Candy
From Hard Candy
Summer 2007 Somewhere out in America
Rain King with Augustana
From August and Everything After
September 21, 2008 Seattle, Washington
Daylight Fading
From Recovering The Satellites
May 13, 2009 Birmingham, England
Mr. Jones
From August and Everything After
March 21, 2008 Good Morning America NYC
Miami
From Hard Candy
May 8, 2009 Dublin, Ireland
A Long December
From Recovering The Satellites
August 19, 2008 Toronto, Canada
I wrote the following this afternoon.
Summer is the Currency of the Blowing Breeze
Wrapped up toilet tissues hide our discretions
Polyurethane protecting us from our creations
The barrier between being needy and greedy
A thin walled membrane separating our cells
Defining male and female from boy and girl
The summer children play but eventually age
Their memories are defined by happy or sad
Rarely is a child indifferent like most adults
I am a hoarder of lyrics to my personal songs
A soundtrack for defining moods and seasons
Summer is the currency of the blowing breeze
You might forget but the writer in me cannot
Inspiration visits less frequently than before
I barely recognize myself in the cloudy sky
When the poems are read back to me today
Could a person only script the future to fail
Every potential love dies like vases of roses
Their petals more beautiful as they crumble
Destroying is my answer to others creating
I am a nuance to myself and find it pleasing
This has to be the reason for being faraway
Closeness is like a mirror and they scourge
Emotionally harmful more than physically
The body heals under the sun of a July day
Everything appearing normal on the shore
Under the waves the ocean trembles softly
I walk through the sand leaving footprints
Until the water washes my presence away
The moon is a better friend than the sun
Shadows are more interesting than light
The mind is the mystery worth resolving
Loving will always remain harder for me
Because too much thought has occurred.
15 July 2009
Monday night David Letterman had on a guy who does baseball stances, I found it rather funny.
And last night great music.
You and I Wilco with Feist
Another plane crash today, this time in Iran, it seems it is not safe flying foreign carriers.
Probably just an anomaly.
It has just started to rain here in southern Ontario.
If you are somewhere out in America, check out the circus.
http://www.travelingcircusshow.com/
john.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Have you seen the little pieces of the people we have been.......
I have decided to slightly switch directions in my blog posts. There will be less of my thoughts and opinions on life, except in my poetry, which I will continue to post. I am going to share music I love, mostly live performances by Counting Crows. I hope to capture the diversity of the band through their live performances. With each post you will get a random set of videos, which might not flow like a live concert but will give you some idea of what you might experience at a live concert. My major interests in life right now are music, managing my fantasy baseball team, watching the Toronto Blue Jays, reading and Letterman. So I suppose I might comment on those hobbies, and provide you with links to what I am reading. There is a wide world out there, as most of you know and are living in it. This is a small wave of information in a wide ocean. I am usually drowning but you might be swimming.
Le Ballet D Or
From Sunday Mornings
May 31, 2008 Luxembourg
1492
From Saturday Nights
February 8, 2008 World Cafe Philadelphia
Have You Seen Me Lately
From Recovering The Satellites
February 5, 2008 Fuse Television
Round Here
From August and Everything After
Pinkpop Holland June, 2008
You Ain`t Going Nowhere
Bob Dylan cover
August 19, 2008 Toronto, Canada
Why Should You Come When I Call with Augustana
From Hard Candy
July 2009 Somewhere out in America
Speedway
From This Desert Life
July 9, 2009 Sarnia, Canada
Anna Begins
From August and Everything After
May 26, 2009 Sheffield, England
Colorblind
From This Desert Life
June 27, 2009 Chicago
Come Around
From Sunday Mornings
August 19, 2008 Toronto, Canada
The book I am currently reading is called I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. It tells the story of two twin brothers, one with schizophrenia and one without. I am about 300 pages through what I think is around 800 pages. A link to information about the book is below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Know_This_Much_Is_True
I wrote the following last night.
The Word Forever Means Very Little To Me
The July sun has begun its daily descent
A fireball of red burning our green trees
I missed its arrival on the wings of birds
Their morning songs no longer wake me
Staying comatose opposes the emptiness
I am safer when my eyes are tightly shut
The love is dried and blotched like skins
Chances are it will never be crystal clear
I have complicated things beyond repair
A shaking hand of nervousness remains
Where firmness and strength are wanted
I rarely venture out to my favourite spots
The river no longer finds me by its banks
Mother Nature has no solace to offer me
I used to memorize landmarks and signs
A collector of resting places for romance
When believing was as easy as breathing
I do not bother anymore with luck games
My karma is inevitably bad in this phase
There might be others after reincarnation
I believe in the nothingness of existence
The insignificance resulting from living
After thousands of years have dissipated
I will not be thought of like every person
Our Earth becoming ashes in outer space
Where our superior technology failed us
I do not want part of the story being told
My mind requires more and craves facts
The word forever means very little to me
I need a fixed date of our supposed return
Life gives a negative return on investment
There is no way any of us are getting rich
I suffer and should not like endless others
While people are silently in physical pain
They have no complaints and are faithful
I wish believing in anything was possible
But for me it will be more than a red sun
Even a woman who cares might fail here
I am far from the person who once cared
Whether being kind was enough for love
History has big screened its inadequacies
I am only here for the music and popcorn.
13 July 2009
Living is a lifetime commitment.
Happy 58th Birthday Dad.
john.
Le Ballet D Or
From Sunday Mornings
May 31, 2008 Luxembourg
1492
From Saturday Nights
February 8, 2008 World Cafe Philadelphia
Have You Seen Me Lately
From Recovering The Satellites
February 5, 2008 Fuse Television
Round Here
From August and Everything After
Pinkpop Holland June, 2008
You Ain`t Going Nowhere
Bob Dylan cover
August 19, 2008 Toronto, Canada
Why Should You Come When I Call with Augustana
From Hard Candy
July 2009 Somewhere out in America
Speedway
From This Desert Life
July 9, 2009 Sarnia, Canada
Anna Begins
From August and Everything After
May 26, 2009 Sheffield, England
Colorblind
From This Desert Life
June 27, 2009 Chicago
Come Around
From Sunday Mornings
August 19, 2008 Toronto, Canada
The book I am currently reading is called I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. It tells the story of two twin brothers, one with schizophrenia and one without. I am about 300 pages through what I think is around 800 pages. A link to information about the book is below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Know_This_Much_Is_True
I wrote the following last night.
The Word Forever Means Very Little To Me
The July sun has begun its daily descent
A fireball of red burning our green trees
I missed its arrival on the wings of birds
Their morning songs no longer wake me
Staying comatose opposes the emptiness
I am safer when my eyes are tightly shut
The love is dried and blotched like skins
Chances are it will never be crystal clear
I have complicated things beyond repair
A shaking hand of nervousness remains
Where firmness and strength are wanted
I rarely venture out to my favourite spots
The river no longer finds me by its banks
Mother Nature has no solace to offer me
I used to memorize landmarks and signs
A collector of resting places for romance
When believing was as easy as breathing
I do not bother anymore with luck games
My karma is inevitably bad in this phase
There might be others after reincarnation
I believe in the nothingness of existence
The insignificance resulting from living
After thousands of years have dissipated
I will not be thought of like every person
Our Earth becoming ashes in outer space
Where our superior technology failed us
I do not want part of the story being told
My mind requires more and craves facts
The word forever means very little to me
I need a fixed date of our supposed return
Life gives a negative return on investment
There is no way any of us are getting rich
I suffer and should not like endless others
While people are silently in physical pain
They have no complaints and are faithful
I wish believing in anything was possible
But for me it will be more than a red sun
Even a woman who cares might fail here
I am far from the person who once cared
Whether being kind was enough for love
History has big screened its inadequacies
I am only here for the music and popcorn.
13 July 2009
Living is a lifetime commitment.
Happy 58th Birthday Dad.
john.
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