November 2003

Independents Day, a project I helped incubate in 2001, has launched the ID3 rebirth by way of its curators Carole Guevin and Jean-François Simard.

Wednesday, December 10 is International Day of Human Rights a day set aside to increase awareness about human rights abuses around the world and the 57th Anniversary of United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Our objective is to gather and lend an independent voice to commemorate the International Day of Human Rights. You are invited to join us through your own voice on the web.

Lisa Williams: “I think it’s wonderful when people are able to change their minds about each other and not be constrained by history, but to take a bigger, more expansive view, one with more possibilities; one with a future. Forgiveness is a wonderful trait to have; it makes all things new.”

A while ago I started to read a book about math, which is funny since I was never all that great in math classes growing up. My short attention span always kicked in. But this book is so great. And one day I might even finish it. “The Parrot’s Theorem“, a novel by Denis Guedj, tells the story of a Parisian bookstore owner and his blind parrot who befriend the shop owner’s assistant and her young children. Along the way the book provides a short history of mathematics mixed within a great story. Jason Goldman linked to a page at Mathworld that is equally entertaining: a page on special numbers and number theory. A few of my favorites include the Unhappy Number, Narcissistic Number and the Almost Perfect Number.

There Comes a Time - Glen Phillips

There comes a time in life
To pull on your coat and go outside
To taste the vinegar of life, bitter life
Taste a second time, and it’s a sweet surprise
Sweet surprise

It’s not that hard to figure it out
When there’s no question, there’s no doubt
Burned in efigy, senseless time
Dispute the miracle, but the water still was wine
And that’s my crime

There is a face in the stone
We let it out to find its form
To shape the testament of will, strongest will
Pride, humility a bitter pill
Bitter pill

Sweet surrender, oh my Lord
I never thought I’d see
It’s not surprising, still I find
I’m shaking, crying
But I’m laughing, softly

There comes a time
To pull on your coat and go outside

Last night Rose Polenzani wrapped up a successful Tuesday residency throughout November at the Lizard Lounge. She hasn’t performed with a full band in a long time so it was great to see two of her shows in one month with other bandmates joining in the fun. “The Flood” and “Orange Crush” were highlights — two songs that really come to life with a full band. Felix McTeigue started the evening off with a short set of tunes. Rose joined him on Magician’s Assistant and then later on she was joined by former Boston music guy now based in D.C., Josh Cole, for his song “Love is a Comma.”

I took a few photos but kept the flash off so they are very blurry. Click on each image to see a larger photograph.

I think I’ve been inspired to rewrite my “about me” page. So should everyone else for that matter.

Jump in it’s only fire;
The pilot’s set to broil, my nimble cook!
It’s useless, flying kites
It only works if the wind is right
And I’ve got a question for my dragonfly
How to navigate through a perilous tide
Without a safe or sound device
Save only I?
Save only I? — “Dragonfly”, Universal Hall Pass

Symbion Project put together an excellent remix of Universal Hall Pass’s “Dragonfly.” Download the mp3 and savor it for yourself. Kasson, the mastermind behind Symbion Project and Melissa of Universal Hall Pass were band mates in Splashdown before they were consumed and spit out by a record label moments before Splashdown’s major label debut was supposed to be released. Maybe the other guy in the band will get back to making music again sometime, too. We can always hope.

Osushi Restaurant inside the Westin Copley Hotel turned out to be an excellent spot for last night’s sixth annual sushi fest. Unfortunately they’ve let their domain name expire so there’s no website to point to. Hopefully they will get that fixed soon. Gregor will post some photos soon and I need to scan our special menu, too. Good times!

For all the things I hid away
And all the words I could not say
The dam would break. — “Dam Would Break”, Toad the Wet Sprocket

I missed Glen Phillips solo show last week at the Middle East but he has several fans from his Toad the Wet Sprocket days who always tape the shows so all is not entirely lost. Chris Berryman has been at several of the concerts and has mp3 and shn files available for download at ComebackDownload.com. Glen doesn’t mind taping as long as it’s not directly from the sound board. But these recordings are still fabulous.

I don’t think they stay online forever so here are a few of my favorites (mostly old Toad the Wet Sprocket songs) from Glen’s November 15th show at Messiah College in Grantham, PA on November 15th:

• Everything Matters
• Windmills
• Liars Everywhere
• Dam Would Break
• One More Dollar (a Gillian Welch cover)