Saturday, March 26
robyn hitchcock is fantastic in concert. his range is huge. his lyrics are amazing. he's charming and has class. i'm glad i saw him. the energy of live performances can't be captured on a disc.

IF DEATH IS NOT THE END

If death is not the end, I'd like to know what is.

For all eternity we don't exist,
except for now.
In my gumshoe mac, I shuffled to the clifftop,
Stood well back,
and struck a match to light my life;
And as it flared it fell in darkness
Lighting nothing but itself.

I saw my life fall and thought:
Well, kiss my physics!
Time is over, or it's not,
But this I know:
Life passes through us like the blade
Of bamboo growing through the prisoner pegged down in the glade
It pierces your blood, you screaming head -
Life is what happened to the dead.

Forever we do not exist
Except for now.
Life passes through us like a beam
Of charcoal green - a golden gleam,
The opposite of how it seems:
It's not you that goes through life
³ life is the knife that cuts your dream
Around the seam
And leaves you turned on in the stream, laughing with your mouth open,
Until the stream is gone,
Leaving you cracked mud,
Not even there to be absent,
From the heartbeat of a dying fish.

In bed, upstairs, I feel your pulse run with the clock
And reach your hand
And lock us with our fingers
As if we were bumping above the Pole.
Yet I know by dawn
Your hand will be dry bone
I'll have slept through your goodbye,no matter how long I wake.

Life winds on,
Through Cheri and Karl who can no longer smell chocolate,
Or see with wonder wind inflate the sail,
Or answer mail

Life flies on
Through Katy who was Catherine but is bound for Kate
Who looks over her shoulder at the demon Azmodeus,
And sees the Daily Mail

(I clutch my purse. I had it just now.)

Life slices through
The frozen butter in the Alpine wreck.

(I found your photo upside down
I never kissed a girl so long,
So long, so lovely or so wrong)

Life is what kills you in the end
And I can cry
But you won't be there to be sorry
You were made of life

For ever we did not exist
We woke and for a second kissed.

-- During Robyn's solo concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall on March 2, 2003, Alan Rickman read this poem written by Robyn.
11:06 AM

Monday, March 21
there's nothing like picking emotional scabs
12:23 AM

Sunday, March 20
last night i put Mark Lanegan back into the CD player. it's good how the past eventually grows dull and ineffective. i also watched the 6 Ultraviolet episodes. what a great series. too bad it hasn't been continued. the music was amazing too. title track, deeply beautiful.
2:13 PM

Saturday, March 19
how did it begin?
1:20 PM

Tuesday, March 8
chip taylor is fantastic to watch, hear, experience.
12:52 PM

Friday, March 4
"The Eastern zodiac is the oldest known horoscope system in the world. With origins tracing back to 2637 B.C., Chinese Astrology can reveal some amazing information about your character, lifestyle and emotional makeup. Each year in the 12-year cycle of Chinese astrology is represented by an animal. People born during a particular year, it is believed, show traits of that animal in their personality. Everyone born in this year as well as in previous ones ¤ including 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981 and 1993 ¤ are born in the year of the Rooster.

The Rooster is the strutting peacock of the Chinese Zodiac! These quick thinkers are practical and resourceful, preferring to stick to what is tried and true rather than taking messy, unnecessary risks. Roosters are keenly observant. Above all else, the Rooster is very straightforward and rewards others' honesty in kind. •

Roosters tend to be perfectionists and expect to be in control, especially over their appearance. Primping and posing for the Rooster can go on forever! Being noticed and admired is an aphrodisiac for Roosters, and they can go a long time on a few kind words. Roosters also adore being out on the town, especially if they're in the company of adoring friends. The Rooster will also be the best-dressed one of the bunch ¤ style counts with this Sign, regardless of the cost!

Roosters need to learn to value their heart and soul as much as their good looks. Their excellent people skills and sharp minds are qualities that others will appreciate as much as a pretty face. Above all, Roosters are very straightforward and reward others' honesty in kind."
2:37 PM

Wednesday, March 2
A metaphor is an image that suggests something else. For instance, if I say to a person, "You are a nut," I'm not suggesting that I literally think the person is a nut. "Nut" is a metaphor. The reference of the metaphor in religious traditions is to something transcendent that is not literally any thing.

For example, Jesus ascended to heaven. The denotation would seem to be that somebody ascended into the sky. That's literally what is being said. But if that were really the meaning of the message, then we would have to throw it away, because there would be no place for Jesus literally to GO. We know that Jesus could not have ascended to heaven because there is no physical heaven anywhere in the universe. Even ascending at the speed of light, Jesus would still be floating around in the galaxy somewhere.

-- The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
10:36 AM