Whew!
November arrives and it’s already the 12th and people are talking of Thanksgiving and even Christmas and I’m trying to figure out what happened to October. Maybe it was the anticipation of the election that made the entire month disappear. I aged during October, yes, I recall that, the candles and the love from my kids and a new turntable from my loving sibling, Dr. John Dorian. Yes, on the 11th I became older than almost every professional athlete that ever played any game ever. Thank you, Jamie Moyer. Thank you for staying older than me. And congrats on a well deserved ring in Philly. It helps that people say Obama is young at 47. Young for the presidency , sure, but can he still do ten pushups? I’ve never once wrote about politics in this blog because I truly hate politics. Yes, I understand the importance of government. It’s one of the perks of procreating – a sudden, and innate need for global peace. But the WWF aspect of what’s required to win an election in America is as petty as a hair-pulling montage on The Best of Jerry Springer. Turns out, if you have nothing to run on, you’re left to attack the other opponent and the reason for this is that until election day, anything remains possible. So many media outlets, so much room for the spin, a Muslim, a swift boat, a toke of weed, plagiarism, Marla Maples on your lap. “Smile!” But, man, is it good to see W. go away or what? Not hell. Just some ranch somewhere, where he can design the Bush library in silence. “I want a dartboard with Obama’s face on it. I mean Osama. I did again, damn!” A lot of people forget that Bush was “the man” when the planes first fell. New Jersey born, I knew three people that perished in 9/11. I remember seeing George when it all went down and thinking, go man, go use all that testosterone and pent up rage you used when you executed nearly all the people in Texas as governor. Go gas up all those jet fighters and tanks and aircraft carriers because the only way to make sense of terrorism is to terrorize right the hell back. Do it for the boy I played little league with in the early eighties who died in the trade center and do it for the woman that told me she had a great book idea just a month before her plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania. And he did, he fired up all the military toys and, well, you’ve seen how it all went down. Frank Rich of the New York Times said that Obama’s win, and I’m paraphrasing, has created the exact optimism and hope that Dick Cheney hoped for in Iraq when the war began. In eight long years, I don’t recall Dick ever promoting anything even close to hope or optimism. Fear was the mantra, and it was sprayed at us relentlessly, for so many years. In fact, when W. had an opportunity to speak after Obama won, his first thoughts were about the vulnerability we as Americans will be prone to as this transition in the white house occurs.
Don’t know about you but I welled up when it became clear Obama would win. And everyone I saw the next day said it happened to them too. Crying over politics? Was I that sickened and unhappy with George and team? Yes. Did I start to fear I’d be forced to see Sarah Palin’s face for the next 4 years? I did. Or was it all the death? Soldiers and non-soldiers, civilians doing exactly what people have been doing in wars for centuries – Dying in the name of dollars or God. People were being killed in the name of God about a week after God was elected. Yes, he won Florida. As cutting edge as our species seems at times there will always be war and or genocide occurring somewhere on our planet. And that is a horrendous pill to swallow.
Sorry if you’re political beliefs are different than mine and all this comes off preachy and tiresome, the way every political pundit on God’s green earth feels to me. I’m done now. A writer taps into his feelings by writing. If there are no feelings to tap into, there is nothing to write about. This election was unprecedented.
Want to hear about my new turntable? Good. I’m back in vinyl and I will tell you a very real truth. Records recorded pre-1985, sound better in vinyl than any other form aside from an actual live performance in your living room. Simon and Garfunkel, for example, has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I bought The Rolling Stone’s Sticky Fingers the other day, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a better rock album in my life. The warmth of the sound is perhaps fueled by nostalgia to some degree, but more so, I believe, in the purity of the recordings of the time. This is why a band like Radiohead, who is famous for intricate and complex musicianship and sound-mining, is better on CD than vinyl. No albums pre-85. But if you put on any Led Zeppelin or Beatles or Bob Dylan or Elton John (which I’ve found in perfect condition for 1 or 2 dollars at Amoeba) it’s an entirely new listening experience. Unfortunately, Death Cab For Cutey and the Killers and Jack Johnson and Kings of Leon and that guy Will.I.am who hologramed himself onto the CNN set, will always sound better on CD.
If you have no idea who I am: My first novel, The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green came out in 2004 and is available for all to enjoy.
My second novel, PeepShow (working title) has been delivered to my publisher and I await my editor’s thoughts. A release date is not yet known.
As we make our descent into yet another holiday season, I wish you all the best and thank you for the kind and thoughtful letters and comments. It means a lot to hear from “Jacob Green” fans, especially because I’ve been holed-up for so long, banging out a new tale to tell. So thanks for sticking with me. I won’t let you down.
Joshua
November 16th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Hi Josh,
Nice hanging with you at the auction for a bit tonight. I told you I’d come home and read the new post!
I can relate on the political stuff. I use to be very political – put off college to work on election campaigns, etc. – but it all got too much for me, too. I realized it one day when I was making a photocopy of a $100,000 check from the Democratic powers-that-be to my candidate and thought about what it meant. It’s all about money, my friend.
In recent years, I’ve decided it makes more sense for me to focus on teaching my children how to be good, caring people (“The difference between Democrats and Republicans? Democrats care about people and Republicans care about money!” Except that they all care about money to one extent or another, of course.)
Yes, I cried when Obama won, I’ll admit. But that had more to do with the significance of our country taking a huge step forward (albeit as California took a huge step back) than about sending W back to Texas. I tried to convey it to my kids as akin to when man walked on the moon – the only other event as significant to me in my lifetime. After everyone went to bed, I pulled out a well-worn copy of Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and then cried again over how far our country has come.
About the vinyl, I’m with you, although a lot of truly great current bands are now returning to issuing their work on vinyl as well as CD, and I am so appreciative. If you don’t believe me, check out Sky Blue Sky, which has a certain 70s sound anyway.
But you are right that the earlier stuff (I’m thinking Springsteen tonight) never sounded as good on CD. Not just because of the sound quality – I find a certain comfort in pulling out a cherished record album and, as I am listening, remembering exactly when those little pops and crackles started showing up on the second verse of Thunder Road, for example. Those little scratches are like old friends, and they take me back to a particular time in my life that I associate with long-ago people and events.
And the age thing? It truly is a state of mind. So happy belated birthday – what is it, 27? 28? Personally, I’ve decided that’s about where I am, maybe even a few years younger.
I’m looking forward to having dinner with you and Jill sometime to make up for the lost Bellanico dinner. And don’t forget to pick up Never Let Me Go!
-Lysa
November 16th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Yessirebob. Amen. All other affirmations you can think of. I’ve spent the last six months trying to figure out how to shoe horn the fabulous Magnavox console stereo system with turn table into my stall of an apartment, because nothing will ever sound better. Can’t wait to read PeepShow.
May 13th, 2011 at 9:36 am
I do agree with all of the ideas you have presented in your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are very short for starters. Could you please extend them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.