Then vs. Now

While shoveling this evening, I began thinking about how differently I think now as opposed to when I was still living in Kenosha.

Then: When I would shovel snow, I used to make a game out of it.
Now: When I shovel snow, I think about how the powers at be are making a game out of me.

Then: I would've thought that poking on Facebook was stupid and pointless.
Now: I think about how awesome Facebook is for allowing me to *poke* my sister, mother, and grandmother, all in one night, from a state away.

Then: I would've contemplated for so long what I was going to say to that cute girl over there that I never would've ended up going to talk to her.
Now: I walk up, without thinking, and just start talking and pass off whatever stupid thing I say as "charming".

Then: I would dream about being productive all the time.
Now: I dream about being productive all the time...except while having sex. Anything *produced* from sex cannot be good.

Then: You're a theater major at DePaul? Cool.
Now: You're a theater major at DePaul? Have you gotten cut yet? Have you auditioned for any productions outside of your school? What did they tell you was the percentage of applicants they accept?

My Parents Are Awesome...

"If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something."
  - Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country




...because my parents are okay with both.

Why Jazz Works (Part I)

As I was running late for a gig the other day, I texted the leader of the group, "Yo, man...I'll be there a little after 9:30. I like to call it 'laying back on the time'. Haha!"

In jazz, when you lay a phrase back on the time and then put the following one right in time, it's hip. Dangerous...but hip. In real life, when you show up late and then jump right in with no problem, people admire you. You can also get fired this way.

After waking up early the other morning, I thought, "If we all, collectively as a human race, hate getting up early, why do almost all of us do it? What if, one day, we all just decided to sleep in?"

In real life, if we all just decided to sleep in, many different societal constructs would fail. In jazz, if we all just decided to not play in time, the whole song would fall apart. (And if you think late Coltrane has no time feel, you're wrong.)