Grapefruit, etc.

It seems that my wife, baby, and I all have thrush. (I like the sound of the word quite a bit) I suppose I am the lucky one, in that I feel no symptoms whatsoever. Yet. My baby seems mildly more fussy than usual, but my poor wife reports that breastfeeding feels as though the little guy has a tongue made of razors. Ugh. I feel empathy pains in the middle of the night while she is feeding, and I try not to grind my teeth. The immediate fallout of this news is that we have all gone on a “no wheat, no dairy, no sugar, very little starch,” diet. We went shopping at the health food store yesterday to load up. Though challenging, I am rather excited about taking healthy eating to a new and heightened level. We always eat quite well, but no bread? Wow. Grapefruit for desert? I feel the strawberry ice cream and Christmas chocolates staring at me with evil eyes from the kitchen. I swear.

So below I place the aforementioned list of things one might buy that would be better than so many other things. I haven’t the energy at the moment for a long diatribe on why I feel this way about these things so I just post links.

Things to buy:

Toms Shoes

Heifer

Great places to donate:

Kiva

Once Upon a School

Records to buy (made by friends of mine):

Kiefer, Akiyama, Corcoran: Low Cloud Means Death

Michael T. Bullock: a mountain (coming around)

Nice Monster

On another note, I recorded this week’s (last week’s?) improvisation and used the acoustic guitar for a change. Not having played it for some time, I was reminded of how much I love the instrument, it being the only steel string acoustic I have ever played that speaks to me. I happen to be rather picky about these things. (For the curious minds, it is a 1997 Gibson SJ200, a Re-issue of an old, super-jumbo from the late 40’s.)

Back to my grapefruit.

They Compared it to Morton Feldman for Christ's sake.

1. I just finished reading an interview with Chris Hedges, war journalist and writer, in this month's issue of The Sun. I find myself quite struck by what he has to say, and how he says it, one of the better interviews (short) I have read in some time. I recommend seeking it out for sure. I would write more about it, but it just needs to be read, I think.

2. I received in the mail today a stunningly beautiful new cd. Yes, it is from my dear friend Christian Kiefer, yes we have made records together, yes my lauding of his work could be seen as a conflict of interest. But I don't care. The design is REALLY magnificent, and the music...well...wonderful. Just wonderful.

From the label website:

"Low Cloud Means Death" is a series of sea-inspired improvisations that are fighting a continual battle with the silence between each note. This is sparse music at its finest. Minimal notes float in the air as Corcoran lays a web of various percussion beneath the organic layer Akiyama and Kiefer weave. The instrumentation is varied - Akiyama sticks to acoustic guitar while Kiefer splits time on accordian, piano, and other vices. What the trio produces ends up coming off like an all-improvised Morton Feldman or something of the like.

This is a journey on salt-encrusted waves, traipsing through empty spaces in search of whatever aural mystery can be found. It goes something like this: Thump. Quiet again. Twang thump. Quiet. Quiet. Still quiet. Distant blap. And let me tell you, it is one fantastic voyage."

If I were you, I would buy it.

As a matter of fact, it occurs to me that I should put up one of those lists full of suggestions about what to buy people for Christmas for those who are still stumped. Things that might have some greater meaning. Tomorrow perhaps.

Subtlety (I like how consonant heavy that word looks)

Though the snow continues is relentless attack on my world, the view from my bathroom window while I sit atop the commode is really quite beautiful. I have been watching the icicles change form day to day, and though subtle, the slight alterations in color, shape, texture, and so on are amazing. I am tempted to lean a tall ladder against the wall outside, and shoot them up close each week. The bathroom is on the second story of the house, and the window will not open in such a way as to give me the photos I desire. Perhaps it is my interest in the subtlety of things such as this, that have increased my interest in small changes in music as well. If only the soreness in my body, from having done pull-ups for the first time in a good while were so gentle and difficult to notice. How is it that we grow older so fast?