Welp, I just noticed that I’ve fallen behind on my blog posts. It’s all about content, right. Gotta put up that content. Content, content, content. And social media. But the problem is, is that summers are slow for me, and I’m almost always underemployed. When I’m underemployed, I get depressed and a little stir-crazy. It’s a bad combination. I also start to withdraw from the world a little bit- without the social aspect of my job (which accounts for a lot of my social interaction, outside of my family) I can’t help but become more insular than normal.
So, what to do? I took a hike yesterday, which was nice (more of a walk on dirt, I guess), I’ve set up another podcast for tomorrow (with film/tv contractor, Edie Lehmann Boddicker, who I’m really excited to interview) and I try and meet up with friends, when I can. That last one is tough, though, when all of your friends have kids of their own and/or are out of town for the summer. I also have to balance the work that does come over the summer with getting away, myself. For instance, I just had to turn down a gig at the Hollywood Bowl because I’m going to be on vacation with my family- a two edged sword, to be sure.
So what’s the point of this post, or this blog, in general? Not sure really…producing content? A diary of my personal life? An advertisement for my podcast? Probably that last one, but I find that to be so phony, for some reason. I do use it as my own personal platform for my political and social beliefs in a way that is more comfortable than open discourse on Facebook, and I like that.
Take the shooting of Alton Sterling, for instance- when are we, as a nation, going to realize that the conservative ideologues who constantly attack affordable education and healthcare, social welfare programs, and sensible gun regulation and reform are complicit in each and every one of these killings? Why is it hard to understand that the very monster that right-wingers are now panicked about is a direct product of the uneducated masses who the Republican party has, in itself, created by these policies? VOTE. THEM. OUT. And lets eliminate PACS, Super PACS and Citizens United, while we’re at it. Oh, and let’s rewrite the second amendment and enact severe campaign reform, too. And what, exactly, does, “Let’s Make America Great Again” even mean? When was it greater than it is today? When blacks couldn’t vote and had to take their dinner to go? Or when women couldn’t divorce an abusive spouse? Or maybe we could go back to Polio (don’t get me started)? How about the Vietnam war or The Great Depression- those were fun times. What Trump is actually saying, and the sentiment that it creates is, “Make America White Again”. He legitimizes hatred, bigotry, xenophobia and all of the things that are in no way what being an American should be. Read, “The New Colossus”. It’s not hard to find. We are a nation of immigrants. You are an immigrant. Get over it. And most of these people call themselves Christians- Really? If you don’t see this, or you are one of these people, it’s time to re-evaluate your priorities.
So, I think I’ll go down that path every once in a while- but until then, please listen to my podcast- and share it liberally on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and by Carrier Pigeon, if you should happen to have any. And thank you.
The older I get, the more I see the difference between “friends” and “friendly”. I’m having a harder and harder time maintaining friendships with folks who don’t understand why a fractured EU is bad for Democracy, who maintain the illusion that gun ownership is good for society, no matter the type of gun, that Muslims are threatening our “freedoms”- and on and on. I can be friendly and professional, but I simply can’t get on board with the willful anti-intellectualism, xenophobia and bigotry that is running rampant in this country and abroad, and I’m having trouble keeping quiet about it.
It seems most people don’t realize that the “hordes of Muslims” are a diaspora being created by the Islamic State and al Qaeda. It is sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites, dummies. This should not be lost on my “Christian” friends, although discussion of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation never seems to come up. But I digress.
Please take ten minutes and read up on Wahhabi Sunnis, Islam in general and our own history. Please take five minutes to google the rise of fascism in the twentieth century. Please stop forcing me to defend decency, compassion and American democratic ideals, and please realize that denigrating 1.25 billion Muslims because of what you see in the news reveals to all of us that you are a frightened, provincial, moronic bigot. Good day.
Wowza- Summer’s here, and man, is it hot. I can’t even think about anything but running through the sprinklers, which I just did, with my boy. I guess there’s a silver lining to just about any situation. This leads me to my next tangent- I have trouble feeling grateful. There, I said it.
Being a dad is hard. Being a husband is hard, too. Why can’t I see all the magic, and embrace more fully, the joy of playing with my kids, or spending time with my lovely wife? Why do I so often think, is this it? Is this what life is?
So, I’m on a quest to explore these things. I made a resolution to meditate every day, so I’m going to start that again. I also need to loose weight- I resolved to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year, and I only have 25 to go, so there’s that, too.
A couple of weeks ago, I was hanging with Hila, and I was in a real mood- Will was being a brat, Amy and I were tense… I asked her, “Remind me why we do this, again?” Her response: “Because life is so much less interesting without it.”
I need to remember this more.
Well, I’ve been at this for 21 episodes now, and I’m still figuring out how to be natural on the mic. I find it hard to listen actively sometimes, and I’m really surprised by this! I’ve always been really good with people, but sometimes, especially when I get nervous, I find my mind wandering. I also realized that I need to be under prepared versus over, which is totally contrary to being a classical musician. I’m finding that hard to deal with, too.
Take the Blair Tindall chat, for instance. I read her book, did online research, had questions prepared, and it was my toughest interview, by far. I really clammed up and I wasn’t listening to conversation, which is a lot easier to do than you think, trust me. I learned something about myself there- I have a really hard time asking questions I already know the answers to, which is contrary to the idea of conducting and interview in the first place. I don’t know- it feels really phony and unnatural to me. It turns out that I’m most comfortable getting to know someone on the air, rather than interviewing them. It is, however, a fine line between being over prepared and insulting the guest with a blatant lack of knowledge. Although, maybe it’s not my problem if the guest is offended by my simply wanting to get to know them- about their life and career. I don’t know. Like I said, I’m still figuring it out.
I endeavor to get better at this, so thanks for sticking it out with me, and luckily, I don’t have a lack of interesting guests.
