Diary of a Network Geek

Gah!
I’m not good at these kinds of things, but the dear, sweet Coco in Tokyo has passed me the musical baton, so I’ll do my best.
* Total volume of music files on my computer: 181 songs, 650Megabytes, but it’s all legal!
Mostly it’s Warren Zevon, Sting, Elvis Costello, and Chris Isaak.

* Last CD I bought: Was actually, either “American Idiot” by Green Day or “Love Music Angel Baby” by Gwen Stefani.

* Song playing right now: “Baby Plays Around” by Elvis Costello

* Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

1. “Allison” by Elvis Costello
2. “Fortress Around Your Heart” by Sting
3. “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton
4. “Ordinary Day” by Vanessa Carlton
5. “Rinse” by Vanessa Carlton

At the moment, the CD player in my car is acting up, so I’m not listening to a lot of music that I normally do. And, I recognize how “tragically unhip” I am, especially when it comes to music, so I’m trying to branch out and discover new stuff. So far, I’m not getting very far! But, I’m slowly creeping up to modern pop music. Now, if I can just get over my terrible fascination with Culturcide… I know the lead man for them, even though that kind of loud punk music isn’t my normal style. Still, I think it lends me “street cred” that their front man burned me a pirate copy of their German bootleg album. Right? That has to count for something…

Now, three suckers to pass the baton to…:

Mark at Clear Lake Reflections
Laurie at A Thousand Thoughts
Bleucube at, er, Bleucube

Apparently, from suicide.
I have to admit, I’ve never read any of Dr. Thompson’s books, but I have read some of his other writing in magazines and was suitably impressed. Also, it didn’t hurt that he was a good friend of Warren Zevon, who I admire greatly. Dr. Thompson, father of “gonzo journalism”, was the basis for another of my favorite characters, Doonesbury’s Uncle Duke. He was an icon of Americana that simply cannot be replaced.
This article at MSNBC.com has details, scant though they may be, regarding his death. No word on a suicide note, but his death was caused by an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
You may not agree with his politics or his journalistic style, but you cannot deny the profound influence he had on the publishing landscape of the 20th century. Good luck on the other side, Doc.

Just a quick note…

I want to thank everyone who’s expressed concern for me and my situation. It’s not as bad as it was when she first left. I don’t come home and cry for hours. And, except for a brief moment when I thought about eating a gun, or, as Warren Zevon put it, “playing solitare with a pearl-handled deck”, I’ve really been okay. I didn’t even need to ask anyone to hold onto my guns. I’m getting the whole situation under control, as much as I can, but it’ll take some time still to work everything out. Of course, I’m still sad about the loss of my family and my hopes and dreams for the future, but I will have a future, even if it’ll be different than I imagined.

Please, keep us all in your prayers. I know I need it and I’m sure everyone else involved will, too. Thanks.

Last year, on this day, Warren Zevon died.

Warren Zevon was one of the most influental musicians of our time. The sad thing is, there are so many people who don’t even know it. He wrote an amazing number of songs for other people to record. So many, that I don’t know where I’d start. Of course, it was his own work that I loved the best. Nothing beats WZ singing “Piano Fighter” or “Seminole Bingo”. I know for a time, I lived, or wanted to live, “Mr. Bad Example” for real. Unfortunately, he’s known best for “Werewolves of London”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great song, but it’s just so little of what made WZ great. I mean, what can you say about a guy who’s personal physician was Hunter Thompson! And had guys like Dave Barry coming to see him while he was dealing with the pain of his cancer. He was just a miracle of a man.
We miss you, Mr. Zevon, but thanks for the great music and memories you left behind.

I feel compelled to say something.

Yesterday, I put up an entry about Warren Zevon’s passing. I commented on how he admonished we who he leaves behind to “Enjoy every sandwich”. Then, I signed into a YahooGroup that I have, from time to time, participated in, called ConCulture. There had been a debate raging back and forth, the subject of which doesn’t really matter, between two groups of fairly unreasonable people. I was one of them. Before I learned of Mr. Zevon’s death, I had been going to make a rather scathing commentary about the debate. But, when I returned to it, I saw how silly it was. In short, it didn’t make my sandwich taste any better.

So, instead, I commented on the fact that Mr. Zevon had died, and what he’d said. I was met with confusion, which is understandable, and derogatory remarks about Mr. Zevon’s work. Specifically, the comment was made that his “werewolf song sucks”. I responded privately to the two people. Both responses, I think, were civil and explanatory. Though, I have no doubt that the message I was trying to impart was totally lost on at least one of the participants. He had no idea where Mr. Zevon fit into music history, much less the message he left us. I doubt, though, that this person understands why we should enjoy our sandwiches.

I’m sure the small-minded, culturally-illiterate poster didn’t mean to sound either ignorant nor insensitive. Still, it’s a shame that he’ll miss out on the message. Our time on this planet is short. We have only a little time to experience whatever it is we’re here to see, do and feel. And, we will have only so many sandwiches to eat and enjoy. It’s a common enough thing, eating a sandwich. Why should we enjoy it? We’ll most likely eat thousands of sandwiches in our lifetime. So, why should every one be special?
Because, gentle reader, everything about life is special. It’s only on the way out that most of us notice, and then, it’s too late. So, while we’re alive and filled with vigor, let’s enjoy the common things in life. Enjoy the smiles of our loved ones. Enjoy the flight of birds. Enjoy the sounds of Mr. Zevon’s music, and other’s music, too. Enjoy the smell of the roses.
And, most of all, enjoy every sandwich.

I’m almost at a loss for words.

MSN has a story detailing his life, in brief, but the only thing that matters today is that Warren Zevon has died.
I was listening to his music when I read the news story. I’m moved at a level I find frankly confusing, since I didn’t know the man personally. If you’ve never heard his music, you owe it to yourself to hear him. Nothing else like Mr. Zevon in the entire world. And, now, even he’s gone. At least we still have the music and what he told David Letterman. “I know how much you’re supposed to enjoy every sandwich.” So, today, as you eat your sandwich at lunch, remember what Warren said. Enjoy them all.

Thanks, Warren.

Again…

It seems like every year there’s another nut who thinks the end of the world is near. C’mon, people! The early Christians thought the end was “near” back before the Roman Empire fell. Every generation has been “sure” that the end is near. So far, we still seem to keep on going. Now, it is possible that I’ve missed the rapture, but that seems unlikely. Unless, of course, the only people who are going to be saved that way were the truly pious who have never sinned. In that case, both of them might have gone missing and no one would have noticed.

On the other hand, Warren Zevon has turned out to be a bit of a prophet. In his song The Envoy, from his 1982 album by the same name, he sang:
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Nuclear arms in the Middle East
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Israel is attacking the Iraqis
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp The Syrians are mad at the Lebanese
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp And Baghdad does whatever she please
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Looks like another threat to world peace
&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp For the envoy

Pretty heavy, considering that we’ve been to war with Iraqi once since then, and we’re about to be at war with them again. I guess you just have to pick which nuts to listen to.