tremors
shuddered with a kiss
from inexplicable lips;
I have lived for this.
the smedley log - suburban scrawl
While the new material simmers…
I figure I might as well draw some added attention to the item currently sitting top right in my sidebar. It’s a widget from the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness, which is in the closing days of its fall donation drive.
The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness is a local organization dedicated to finding solutions to the homelessness problem in the City of Brotherly Love. They do this without any government funding, so it is truly the donations of the community that make their efforts possible.
If you’ve been sitting on a pile of cash (or even just a few extra bucks) and you want to do something to help a great cause, perhaps you’ll consider donating today. Even if the fall drive is over by the time you read this, don’t worry, they’ll still gladly accept your generosity and put it to good use.
Click here to learn how to donate to PCEH. (Click here if you have a blog or other website and would like to help spread the word yourself.)
Three
It is the third anniversary of this site’s existence, at least counting from the oldest surviving entry, posted on a Black Friday in 2003. There’d be a few older entries, if only I hadn’t accidentally purged them.
I don’t think I ever saw this thing dragging on for three years, but it looks like I’ve (barely) made it that far none the less. A quick and sincere thank you to all those who’ve fed into my delusionary belief that people would actually care what I think.
Friday random ten
(you gotta’ leave it behind)
Welcome to the post-holiday, still absentee and absolutely not shopping today version:
1. Walk On – U2
2. The Long Day Is Over – Norah Jones
3. Someday Soon – Gin Blossoms
4. Take It Outside – Barenaked Ladies
5. Jimi Thing – Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
6. Not Ready to Make Nice – Dixie Chicks
7. Crowing – Toad the Wet Sprocket
8. Rosebud – Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
9. John Wayne Gacy – Sufjan Stevens
10. Lifelong Fling – Over the Rhine
Favorite: 1 – it didn’t really matter what followed this one on the list, I knew as soon as it came up, I was going to pick this one. It’s the live version from the 9/11 Tribute to Heroes performance, which has several other wonderful tracks as well. But I like the way this one leads in with “Heaven on Earth.”
Things Sparky would approve of: 1 and 7
Artist I should have seen recently: the second half of the duo from 5, who played recently at the Trocadero (if my concert poster memory serves).
Anybody who would cross that line: Ben, Brian, Ellen & Jess
The giving of thanks, and other things
It shouldn’t be a once a year ritual, but for many of us it’s hard to find gratitude in our hearts for even one day out of the year.
A lot of people I know seem to be dreading large familial gatherings. Some people are down on their luck, so to speak, and genuinely feel as if giving thanks would be a hollow gesture. I, however, am not one of them.
I will be kicking off my whirlwind turkey day tour, realizing that I am blessed and fortunate, and hoping that I won’t just lose sight of my fortunes once the day is over. I wish the same for everyone reading this.
And if you already feel blessed, consider sharing from your blessings with someone else. The world’s full of folks who could use a little kindness and grace. If you can’t think of any off the top of your head, I suggest a gift to the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness – or any of the organizations linked under “causes” in the sidebar.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Art of Conversation Faltering
A snippet from a Philadelphia Inquirer column by Stephen Miller correlating the rancor in Congressinal debate with the lack of civil debate in American culture as a whole:
Alas, in America today many people enjoy being impolite. They think it is a sign of integrity to express oneself vehemently. Moreover, angry authors, angry columnists, and angry talk-show hosts usually do well in the marketplace. The climate for conversation is not good, so good conversationalists – people who listen attentively and disagree politely – may become an endangered species.
I know people who rightly point out that civility in a principled debate is not a virtue unto itself, but the lack thereof can get in the way of discovering when someone else might actually have a worthwhile point.
Click here for the full text of Stephen Miller’s column.
Friday random ten
(something so big I can’t understand)
1. Love Is All Around – R.E.M.
2. Reincarnation Song – Toad the Wet Sprocket
3. Concrete Girl – Switchfoot
4. Wake Up, Dead Man – U2
5. War on Drugs – Barenaked Ladies
6. Shackled – Vertical Horizon
7. Beeswing – Richard Thompson
8. Smokescreen – Lost Dogs
9. Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother! – Sufjan Stevens
10. I Shall Believe – Sheryl Crow
Favorite: 9
Most bittersweet: 5
Most bitter: 6
Longest tenured track from my personal collection: 8
On behalf of humanity: Ben, Brian, Ellen, Fred, Jessica, Marisa, Matt, Sparky
