Maybe you've noticed a reoccurring theme with the titles. I like to reference lyrics and song titles. I wanted to call this entry, "Fuck You, Smokers" but I refrained. You're welcome.
Last Friday, I went to some friends' house and they're pretty heavy smokers. They were drinking too, which I know from experience can make you feel like you need to smoke more. But you don't. Because after the 10th cigarette, (again, I also know from experience), you aren't getting anything off it except a little hand-holding comfort.
They were doing the kind of smoking where you light one up after another (also known as chain smoking), leaving most of the cigarette burning in the ashtray like incense. Cigarettes, incidentally, are not incense. (But like incense, they emit thick smelly fumes and make you stink like a college-going, driving-my-parents-SUV hippy.) Despite the fan and the humidifier they generously supplied for the comfort of their guests, (or maybe there's only so much they themselves can take), B & I left there feeling gross. In fact, I woke up the next day with a heavy feeling in my chest, and by the end of the weekend, I had a full blown case of bronchitis.
Monday I went to the dr. Thank goodness B had the day off work & could drive me, because I was in no shape to be operating a vehicle. I told the doctor about my visit to their house and guess what? She thinks this totally contributed to my bronchitis.
Surprise! Smoking really is bad for you.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am. I had to do a show this week that I absolutely couldn't cancel and I had to sing through this crud. The thought that I could have possibly avoided this by not being around the heavy smoke is frustrating. Truthfully I didn't even think about the fact that my friends are big smokers and they'd probably smoke in their house. Alot of smokers prefer not to.
And before you get your panties in a wad, let me just say that I fully realize I was in their home and no, I didn't tell them it bothered me. We're just getting to know them and I like them alot and I didn't want to be rude. (That's what this forum is for.) And besides, have you tried telling people who smoke that it bothers you? Or been on the receiving end? Christ, you'd think you were asking to fuck their husband.
Louisville is facing a smoking ban, obviously to much resistance, since this is, after all, tobacco country. I can't believe how many people still smoke cigarettes. Well, I can since the shit's harder to kick than crack, but I'm talking more about the folks who are casual smokers. It's so bad for you and makes you feel so awful in the long run, why bother? Full disclosure, in case this wasn't apparent, I used to smoke. I smoked for about 5 years. And even as a smoker, I couldn't stand second-hand smoke. I lived with a group of guys my junior year of college who did the whole leave-the-cigarette-burning-in-the-ashtray-like-incense thing, and it bothered me then. Smoke it or put it out.
I know smoking has become taboo, but it also feels like just admitting that it bothers you brings up a venomous debate about human rights. I am all for everybody doing what they want. But when your doing what you want affects my health, I get a little bitchy. Even at your house.
2.11.2007
I Wonder If We Can
I finally finished Bob Gruen's John Lennon, The New York Years. It's remarkable how easy it is to relate to John, given his fame. His self-consciousness and sensitivity to the things around make him seem more like the rest of us. I'm impressed by his tenacity to become a better, healthier person, especially during the last few years of his life. The tragedy of his sudden murder was only magnified by how hard he worked to turn his life around.
Gruen doesn't come across as arrogant or boastful in his writing. He doesn't speak for John, or his family for that matter, but he speaks about him the way you would someone you really care about. It seems like everybody wants to write a book on a celebrity, and so many have been written about John Lennon that it's got to be tough to come up with an angle to make your book stand out. Gruen was John and Yoko's personal photographer for about a decade, and probably every famous photo of John that you can think of was taken by him. Since they were also friends, Gruen was around for more intimate, everyday moments. One of my favorite photos is of John and Yoko walking down a pier at dawn. A day or two before the picture was taken, Nixon won the election, and John took it exceptionally hard. They left the studio and went to a party, where John walked right up to some woman, in front of Yoko, took her into another room and began loudly having sex with her. I can't imagine how horrible Yoko felt and how uncomfortable Bob and everyone left in the room was. By the time the photo was taken,
John had sobered and was obviously making amends. Having this back story, though, deepens the effect of the photo.
There is an underlying tension through the whole book, because you know eventually you will come to an account of his death. Bob chronicles the years in New York with personal stories and major events and is careful not to fast forward or foreshadow his death, or talk about John's past beyond those years he knew him, which I think lends him more credibility. In fact, he does such a great job staying in the moment that when I finally turned the page and saw the 2 glossy, solid black pages with only the words, "December 8, 1980," I had to stop and collect myself before I could turn to the next page. I realized I had arrived, and it felt sudden, abrupt and unforgiving.
The New York Years also gave me a more profound sense of how much John and Yoko cared for each other. Everything I had heard about Yoko before, everything I had assumed and judged and condemned her for, seemed so contrary in the context of their lives together. They were obviously very in love, in spite of, and maybe because of, all they had been through together. In my opinion, they're one of the greatest love stories of all time.
Reading this book put me in the moment of falling for John and losing him as if it just happened. It was an easy read and the photos, along with their back stories are incredible. I began reading The New York Years in late September, while recording my first full length record. I came across a copy of the book in the studio, and I read it here and there, during down time and between takes, and I finally got to the point where I had to have a copy of my own at home. It's been a source of inspiration over the last 5 months, and now I've finally finished it, along with the record.
Gruen doesn't come across as arrogant or boastful in his writing. He doesn't speak for John, or his family for that matter, but he speaks about him the way you would someone you really care about. It seems like everybody wants to write a book on a celebrity, and so many have been written about John Lennon that it's got to be tough to come up with an angle to make your book stand out. Gruen was John and Yoko's personal photographer for about a decade, and probably every famous photo of John that you can think of was taken by him. Since they were also friends, Gruen was around for more intimate, everyday moments. One of my favorite photos is of John and Yoko walking down a pier at dawn. A day or two before the picture was taken, Nixon won the election, and John took it exceptionally hard. They left the studio and went to a party, where John walked right up to some woman, in front of Yoko, took her into another room and began loudly having sex with her. I can't imagine how horrible Yoko felt and how uncomfortable Bob and everyone left in the room was. By the time the photo was taken,
John had sobered and was obviously making amends. Having this back story, though, deepens the effect of the photo.
There is an underlying tension through the whole book, because you know eventually you will come to an account of his death. Bob chronicles the years in New York with personal stories and major events and is careful not to fast forward or foreshadow his death, or talk about John's past beyond those years he knew him, which I think lends him more credibility. In fact, he does such a great job staying in the moment that when I finally turned the page and saw the 2 glossy, solid black pages with only the words, "December 8, 1980," I had to stop and collect myself before I could turn to the next page. I realized I had arrived, and it felt sudden, abrupt and unforgiving.
The New York Years also gave me a more profound sense of how much John and Yoko cared for each other. Everything I had heard about Yoko before, everything I had assumed and judged and condemned her for, seemed so contrary in the context of their lives together. They were obviously very in love, in spite of, and maybe because of, all they had been through together. In my opinion, they're one of the greatest love stories of all time.
Reading this book put me in the moment of falling for John and losing him as if it just happened. It was an easy read and the photos, along with their back stories are incredible. I began reading The New York Years in late September, while recording my first full length record. I came across a copy of the book in the studio, and I read it here and there, during down time and between takes, and I finally got to the point where I had to have a copy of my own at home. It's been a source of inspiration over the last 5 months, and now I've finally finished it, along with the record.
2.05.2007
Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job
As if the extreme cold and darkness of winter doesn't make it hard enough to get out of bed in the morning, my super cute husband and sweet lil kittehs were all bundled together in our snuggly down comforter this morning. Somehow my sense of responsibility prevailed, and I managed to leave for work. Now that I'm here, if I totaled the amount of time I have had nothing to do today, I could have left at lunch. And B had the day
off too. I could have been back at home, in my p.j.s, curled up with him in a pile of pillows with a cat under each arm and a dog on either side of the bed. Thanks alot people. I hope it was worth it.
off too. I could have been back at home, in my p.j.s, curled up with him in a pile of pillows with a cat under each arm and a dog on either side of the bed. Thanks alot people. I hope it was worth it.
Baby, It's Cold As Shit Outside
If this blogging thing were a horse race, I would have been the dope
that didn't make it out of the gate. But never mind that.
This weekend I went to St. Louis. I spent some time in a wonderful little bar called Lemmons, a gritty and comfortable pizza joint with friendly staff. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to explore the city much further. I did get to eat at the IHOP though, which is a rare and delicious occurrence. Hopefully we'll get to check it out more soon. As we left the city, I nearly wrecked the car trying to take photos of the arch by hanging my cell phone out the window while I was driving. It wasn't one of the smarter things I've done, but we lived to laugh about it. On the way home, we also tried to play Riddley Riddley Ree, I See Something You Don't See, but it turns out there ain't shit to see on 64. It was a beautiful drive though, despite the frigid temperatures. The skies were bright and clear. Perhaps this was an omen for the good things to come, like the Colts winning the Super Bowl. (Sorry Chicago, just cuz your city's bigger doesn't mean you play better football.)
Speaking of frigid temperatures, today is apparently the coldest day on record in 4 years for our city. Naturally, this sent my mother into a panic. Despite the hour-long conversation we'd had 40 minutes earlier, this sparked a callback and another 20-minute conversation, in which I was told to cover our car engines with a blanket, held in place by a brick
(you know, because I have bricks lying around)
and to leave a stream, not a drip, of water flowing from the faucet overnight. There were already all kinds of school closings and delays, and people should not go out unless they ABSOLUTELY HAD TO, and she'd already called her work to say she wouldn't even think about leaving the house before 8am.
Wanna know how cold it got? Minus 5 with the wind chill. If that's what KY is worried about, maybe someone should call Minnesota and let them know they better just shut down the whole state for a few months until this winter things passes. I hear it's pretty nippy there.
that didn't make it out of the gate. But never mind that.
This weekend I went to St. Louis. I spent some time in a wonderful little bar called Lemmons, a gritty and comfortable pizza joint with friendly staff. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to explore the city much further. I did get to eat at the IHOP though, which is a rare and delicious occurrence. Hopefully we'll get to check it out more soon. As we left the city, I nearly wrecked the car trying to take photos of the arch by hanging my cell phone out the window while I was driving. It wasn't one of the smarter things I've done, but we lived to laugh about it. On the way home, we also tried to play Riddley Riddley Ree, I See Something You Don't See, but it turns out there ain't shit to see on 64. It was a beautiful drive though, despite the frigid temperatures. The skies were bright and clear. Perhaps this was an omen for the good things to come, like the Colts winning the Super Bowl. (Sorry Chicago, just cuz your city's bigger doesn't mean you play better football.)
Speaking of frigid temperatures, today is apparently the coldest day on record in 4 years for our city. Naturally, this sent my mother into a panic. Despite the hour-long conversation we'd had 40 minutes earlier, this sparked a callback and another 20-minute conversation, in which I was told to cover our car engines with a blanket, held in place by a brick
(you know, because I have bricks lying around)
and to leave a stream, not a drip, of water flowing from the faucet overnight. There were already all kinds of school closings and delays, and people should not go out unless they ABSOLUTELY HAD TO, and she'd already called her work to say she wouldn't even think about leaving the house before 8am.
Wanna know how cold it got? Minus 5 with the wind chill. If that's what KY is worried about, maybe someone should call Minnesota and let them know they better just shut down the whole state for a few months until this winter things passes. I hear it's pretty nippy there.
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