The blink of an eye

What can you do, or what have you done, in 35 minutes that will leave a lasting mark on society, the arts, pop culture? Anything? Impossible?

You're a songwriter, and it's the middle of summer. Blazing hot. You're thinking of a way to keep cool, doodling around. Your singer/songwriter comes up and wonders what you're doing. You tell him about your predicament, and he looks at your charts, likes what he sees, and proceeds to extend and play with it. Thirty-five minutes later...

Pure bliss. And a classic.

Mel Torme and Robert Wells wrote a song that's never gone out of style. NPR profiles Torme in a recent edition of their Jazz Profiles program. The way he used his voice as an instrument is astounding. And so was his songwriting.

Silent running

Another day, another deed. I woke before dawn to make my run into the city and dive into the river of humanity. I take the train up, and for the past two days, I've been able to get a seat. It beats standing for half an hour. But the only sound I hear is of the train racing along the tracks. I know it's 6.15 in the morning, but you expect some form, some semblance of life. But most are catching up on the news, tapping away on their BlackBerrys, on trying for more sleep before another full day at the office. Or, like me, earphones strapped in, listening to music, staring out the window at the crystal-clear morning sky.

The sky is crying

For the first time in days, it's raining here. The corn has certainly been begging for it. Maybe the sky is crying because today is That Day. Who knows...

Well said, but...

I like the sentiments in this editorial, but you have to be careful. Smugness in being the first on the block with the coolest gadget and smugness in watching those who were first get burned is the same thing: smugness. Coolness, detachment, while never easy to achieve, never go out of style. They're always worth the price.

Two parachutes

The social life in Brussels is such that, if the party you attend is lame, or your friend doesn't show, you have options. There are plenty of places to bend an elbow, catch a game, or contemplate good jazz over a gin & tonic. In other words, have a plan B. Know what your options are, and how and when to execute them.

This came to mind this morning while listening to a sports radio show. The host basically said if kids are playing sports, parents should encourage them to have two parachutes, because most kids drop sports at a young age. They need a fallback. We all do when that first chute doesn't work. We try to pack it the best way we can, but ropes get tangled. That reserve has to be ready to do its job. At all times, and at any time. Is your reserve ready?

A dollop of stubbornness

Like anything, stubbornness is a double-edge sword. In the proper amount, it can be a formidable weapon, and a rock to cling to in trying times. You gotta know how much you need and when you need it. Here's a hint from Bruce Lee (yes, that one):

Dedication, absolute dedication, is what keeps one ahead-a sort of indomitable obsessive dedication and the realization that there is no end or limit to this because life is simply an ever-growing process, an ever-renewing process.

The ball always keeps rolling...

Survive and advance

In tournament play, it's all you can do. When you're in the middle of a huge field, like in NASCAR, golf or college basketball, you have to negotiate and navigate cautiously and carefully. See the holes, pick through them, shoot through them. When coming up on a pack, you wait, so some patience, move with them. You can use the pack to get to where you want. And you'll get bumped, too. You know it's coming, might as well brace for it. Then, there it is--daylight. You power through, and cruise along to the finish line. Until the next race.

Knowing too much

This article is me. That little voice in my head knows too much, is too aware of what's going on. There are times when I wish I was oblivious to things, to events. Sometimes I wish I could get out of my way. When that little voice kicks in, I don't move forward. I sit still, trying not to wallow, trying not to spin my wheels. After awhile, I can move on. I just wish I could move along faster, let it just roll away and not care.

More great pointers from this article. Especially number five. Problems really are transitory. They can be solved. Yes, it's hard to fathom when they appear to be 100 feet tall. You only need to realize you are more than the situation you face.

Nothing to say

Sometimes it's perfectly fine to say nothing. I've been wracking my brain for an hour trying to think of something to write, and you know what? I can't think of a damn thing. I don't want to write merely for the sake of writing. If I have something to say, or something to riff on, I'll note it. Otherwise, I'll stay silent...

Master class

Steve Jobs does it again. He proves why he is a master at marketing and understanding his customers, even when he (seemingly) makes a mistake. On Wednesday, Apple introduced a slew of iPods, including an iPhone-less model. Then he dropped a bombshell: he slashed the price of the top-model iPhone by one-third. While making most happy to have the gadget now within monetary reach, the early adopters--the ones who stood in line for hours or days to be the first on their block with one--were ready to go postal. Some were irate, many were just hysterical. Reading the tea leaves, Jobs reversed course, a little, and in a letter, offered $100 in store credit to those who bought it early. In short, Jobs was caught off-guard by the vitriol, recovered, offered and olive branch, and probably gained customers in the bargain. All in 24 hours. He moved fast, and keep a spark from becoming a tire fire. A chapter from the book of the Art of Recovery.

I'm trying to have some sympathy for those on the bleeding edge who shelled out an extra $200 for the iPhone. But they had to have known Apple would do this (though maybe not so fast). But being an early adopter, you run the risk of price and technology changes. And you know these things are coming. The price always falls after a spell, and the technology on the phone will improve. Being the old, slow tortoise is ok, sometimes...

Workaday world

I'm sitting at my usual perch, sipping coffee and watching harried commuters in tiny metal boxes hustle to the office. Being off-rhythm from everyone else is good. You get one day to watch the world go by. You can ponder reality, fantasy, last night's game. Carving out a notch of peace and tranquility ought to be a given, a natural, but it's not. Our lives intrude and intervene a little too much. Making the time to give yourself some slack is allowed. Really, it is. You'll have plenty of time to pull the line taut again soon enough.

Hostage negotiations

Politicians are adept at playing on peoples' fears. Of the unknown, of the other. And the sad thing is that it's effective. They prick the conscience and tap into the things that shouldn't motivate us, but they do. And we allow them to get away with it.

It's a horrible position to be held hostage by fear. You're constantly looking over your shoulder, always wondering where or when the next incident will occur. And most of the time, nothing ever happens. You become afraid of your own shadow. I'm not saying you should blithely go through life not being aware--far from it. There are monsters and dragons out there. Just not in every corner. Life is to be lived, not feared.

Space race

Shelter is one of the essentials to exist as a human. A roof over our head, a wall to hang a photo, a place to call home. But how much home do you need? It depends on your needs. The average American home is 2,500 square feet. Enough for the average nuclear family, with some room to spare. But where do you put the game room? And the bowling alley? And the 103-seat movie theater? Seriously? There's a guy in Connecticut with this exact dilemma. But he's not going for average. He's going for 50,000 square feet. 20 times the average house in this country. That game room? 4,900 square feet. And the kicker? two-thirds of the house is below ground. Only 17,000 square feet is visible. Where else are you going to put that bowling alley and theater?

Obviously, the guy building this castle has the scratch to do it. Maybe it's his reward after living a good and prosperous live. But 50,000 square feet? With sustainability being a watchword these days, maybe that's a bit much. The bills to heat, cool, water and power that place are sure to be astronomical. And the property taxes! Hey, if you have to ask how much...

A wee bit of a gaffe

We're human, right? We all make mistakes. Hopefully, none of us have made a gaffe this big.

The valley of the shadow

Sometimes people drift into dark places, thinking there is no way out. Drugs, failed relationships, money woes, politics even, can drag people into mulling fateful decisions. Here is a stunning list of people who've attempted suicide. The reasons are usually the same--they see no way out of the box they are in. Their attempts failed, and they had to make a slow climb back to some semblance of normalcy. As bad as things get sometimes, they never last. It's like a storm. And the sun always comes back out. You just need the right amount of persistence.

New Year's Day

Today is New Year's Day. Seriously. I know the calendar says Sept. 4, but trust me. Summer represents the slowest time of the time, a point where people head off on holiday to rest, recharge and contemplate. And, come September, life begins anew, with folks ready (maybe) to take on challenges old and new. School years begin now, and life tends to revolve around the kids' schoolwork and activities. The weather changes, from sweltering heat to just warm. We're ready to face a new year, aren't we?

Star light, star bright

After my post-work walk, I went for a little drive. The night breeze, though a tad cool, felt nice. The sunroof open, I couldn't help looking up at the sky and seeing all the stars in the heavens. And it made me a little wistful for a summer that never quite came. Usually, summer nights are steamy, where all you want to do is sit and listen to the crickets chirping and drink your favorite libation. Those nights this summer were scarce, but no matter. It was still good. And still, plenty of stars to stare at.

Leveling the field

A summer's worth of discontent was washed in a few stadiums yesterday:

Appalachian State (say it right!) knocked off Michigan, 34-32. What's the big deal? Only that Ap State, a Division I-AA school, beat a ranked Division I school with dreams of playing for the national championship. Oops, not anymore. Chalk one up for the underdogs who stand in the face of conventional wisdom, and know what they have in their hearts.

Virginia Tech beat East Carolina, 17-7, the first big Tech gathering after the April 16 massacre. Some may doubt the power of sports to heal after tragedy. But sports represents a certain normality, a place where people can scream their heads off, and achieve some catharsis, and leave behind, for awhile, the troubles of the world.

Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter for Boston last night against Baltimore. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. Not bad for a guy making his second start in the majors. Youthful exuberance and perseverance count for a lot. And those qualities never go out of style.

And while we're on the subject of sports...

USA Basketball clinched a spot in the Olympics. But the job is just starting.

For the last time, David Beckham is not the savior of American soccer. The largest participatory sport in the country will be fine. The pro soccer league will survive, chastened by putting so many eggs in a fragile basket. Yesterday highlights why soccer will always have a hard time gaining more than toehold here. There's so much competition for my sports attention, and that competition is so good, that the splash you make has to last for awhile. And have strong knees and ankles.

Dropping off the face of the earth

Americans aren't good at taking vacations. Not at all. While most of Western Europe shut down in August, the U.S. of A. kept rolling, like Old Man River. Stories and studies have been done time and time again on the differences between the two cultures and their approach to work and vacation. We all need time to recharge our batteries, so we can keep working well and living well. This seems like a good way to achieve that. The world wouldn't cave in if we're not there. It'll keep rolling along.

The perfection paradox

There's a great article at Cultivate Greatness about how the drive for perfection can hold us back from achieving what we want. We want to be good at what we do, but we believe if things aren't just so, we can't do the job. At some point we have to accept we aren't perfect, but we can still move toward our goal. It's a fine line.