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As a part-time songwriter, I look for images or phrases that tell a lot in a few words. The metaphor that has been coming to me lately is a hiker on a glacier. The glacier represents the student project. It seems stationary sometimes, but if you reflect and think about where we were last year — even where we we 8 weeks ago — the darn thing is moving! Just recently we came up on the Oracle database for the first time. Integration testing, training, and load testing (aka “the benchmark”) are all begun or soon to begin. You can’t feel it just by standing still or when you are trudging along. And when you are in the middle of it, it seems to have no beginning and no end. But if you pick a reference point, and watch closely, you will notice that a lot of things are in motion. We can do this.
I can’t think of a song written about a glacier (Icy Blue Heart by John Hiatt is the closest in my mental jukebox). After go live I think strum some chords and I’ll give it a shot.

Here is a link to an 80 minute Richard Shindell concert on Folk Alley. You can listen for free, and download it (and lots of other music) if you buy a tax-deductible membership.

Frank Tedesso has a new CD for sale on his web site. Most haven’t heard of Frank, or heard much from him musically for awhile, but if by chance you’ve heard me cover “Margaret and Vincent”, I learned it from one of Frank’s CDs. It is one of those songs that could be made into a 90 minute movie, and there would be plenty of artistry and plot.

And old Fiddler’s Dream friend, Gus Brett, once known locally as The Czar of Sorrow, has a new CD up on CDBAY. Gus is more than a little cool, and marches to his own drummer, fife and fiddle. (You go, bro.)

I’m reading from a varied stack right now:
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
The Laughing Sutra
Never Check E-mail in the Morning

The first book is doubly interesting. It is a readable account of a professional team being brought together, and it is a book handed to me by Maricopa’s Chancellor. I can’t help reading wondering if there is going to be an assignment or at the very least a discussion.

The second book is a novel, so far very Indiana Jonesish, set in China with a Buddhist backdrop. Recreation at its finest, with the potential for some insights along the way.

The third book is a set of nine competencies to help anyone improve their productivity in our always on, always accessible, Blackberry-in-one-pocket-Treo-in-the-other world. The book contains a pretest, so you can skip the competencies that you have under control. I recommend this book to all. By the way, one of the lessons of the book is in the area of keeping your work/life balance. The author’s admonition is to figure out what your no-brainer short cut is to find joy. Find your short cut, and use it. Often. For me, it’s music. There is an deep tradition of people singing harmony that for me is simply transporting and smile making. Peter, Paul and Mary — Bob Dylan — James Taylor — Roger Clyne — Jayhawks — BoDeans — Redbird.

Also on the nightstand is something by Anita Shreve, and a brush up on Emotional Intelligence. More soon…

The giglet was lots of fun, and thanks to R and A and L for coming out. Grandaughter Ashlyn also made her first attendance at a live music show ever, and on the same day she got her first tooth! The music was tolerable for her, but the applause… No Bueno Por Nada. So, she listened from the safe distance of the sidewalk on the other side of the plate glass window. The Quiet Boys were as good as I’ve ever heard, and in search of a new name. Quiet No More is my nomination.

Inspired by the Quiets, I went to i-tunes this morning looking for Guster’s song “Careful.” Found it, and also something else. Seemed on the album, there are 12 tracks, then some silence, and then a final song. However, on i-tunes, the 13th track gets its own price tag, so if you are so inclined, you can buy 30 seconds of silence by Guster for 99 cents. I am not making this up. Is this what Al Gore had in mind when he invented the internet?

There are reliable rumors that Quiet No More will be appearing at Into The Bean on first and third Fridays in the months ahead.

Go here and click Enter, and then Find Us to get a map. I’ll be opening for the Quiet Boys, and they say I can play 20 minutes, or 4 songs, whichever comes FIRST. Saturday, August 20th, 730pm. I can live with that, so THANKS QB.

Take a look at Jeff Black’s podcast (searchable from ITunes or at his site.) He updates it every Tuesday, and most of the music comes from bootlegs that his listeners have recorded over the years. It’s simple, direct, and makes you think you are sitting on a couch at the back of the coffee house.