the smedley log - suburban scrawl

fx

imagination
leads us to places untouched
by special effects.

So what if we’re outta tune?

“Whoever is most impertinent has the best chance.”
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

There are very few constants in life. One is the presence of change. Another is the fact that I will, at least 90% of the time, want to pursue things in which most people have no interest.

So I’m used to people crinkling their noses or peering in disbelief at the things I value most. But I’ll never get used to hearing intelligent people stumbling to justify allegiance to the mediocre without admitting that conformity is at least part of the reason. [Read more →]

A monument to pretension?

This is a picture of every Moleskine notebook I’ve used since last spring – well except for one volume I can’t seem to find.

There are folks who think the use of a Moleskine notebook connotes someone desperately trying to seem creative. Me, I just find the hardcover version incredibly durable. And If you’ve ever been prone to leaving your notebook on top of the car as you leave for work, you know why durability is a concern for me.

so much

so much to explore
so much still undiscovered
so much left to know

expeditious folly

in search of answers,
speed must never take the place
of accuracy.

memorial

remember the past,
but always strive to ensure
it won’t be wasted.

calibration

there may be millions
screaming disparate orders;
I only hear you.

dawn textures

I miss the beauty
of rural-scented mornings
and bird serenades.

Friday random ten
(for my angel in black)

• November – Duncan Sheik
• Running to Stand Still – U2
• Daddy Can’t Shoot – Ruth Ruth
• Not My Cup of Tea – The Verve Pipe
• So Lonely – The Police
• Eurotrash Girl – Cracker
• People Get Ready – The Frames
• God Part II – U2
• Be Here Now – Mason Jennings
• I Should Get up – Teddy Thompson

One of my favorite tracks above is not listed in the liner notes for the album on which it originally appeared. Anyone know which one?

An old friend and concert companion of mine featured the song “November” prominently at her wedding reception. Ever since, that’s what I think of when I hear that song. Oddly, that particular wedding reception was held the same day the Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb. It was also the Saturday prior to the Columbine shooting, which occurred just outside Denver, which happened to be the honeymoon destination of the newlyweds.

So there’s a pretty strange juxtaposition of memories that tend to tag along when I’m reminded of that day. Still, that reception was highly enjoyable, and the happy couple seems to be doing well together, all ominous associations aside.

Just take a seat, they’re always free:
Ben
Brian
Ellen
Fred
Jessica
Marisa
Rachel
the editor
Troy

compass

I’m just admiring
that gyroscope of a soul
leading you along.

indignant

I want to blame you
but I have my own mirror
so I know better.

free will

God’s more reluctant
than some of His followers
to force compliance.

Hard copy

I’ve been writing a lot over the past week or so. It’s almost as if the accident jarred my mind, letting loose all manner of untamed thoughts. A lot of the writing has been an effort to copy down the ideas bubbling to the surface. If only they made a machine for that sort of thing…

forever and/or a day

almost a lifetime
since the sunrise erupted
over the skyline.

dependency

the purple flower,
straining to escape the shade,
leans into the sun.

One week after impact

I appreciate all the people who’ve expressed their sympathies after last week’s auto mishap. Of course, some of the well-wishing emanated from offline contacts of mine, a surprising number of which were folks I didn’t know were reading this site until they shared those wishes.

I’m feeling quite a bit better this week, and I think the worst of the muscle spasms and aches has passed. The car is still awaiting its visit to the auto surgeons, but there’s no desperate hurry.

I attended Marisa’s relatively public birthday celebration last night with many other fascinating folks, a few of whom I didn’t know prior to the big event. It was a lot of fun, even if I was a bit tired throughout most of yesterday.

And this afternoon I’m cleaning, and sneezing, for a few hours before I decide what the rest of the day is going to bring.

spring cleaning

dusty exercise
undertaken with dread for
all we’ll throw away.

of certainty

undeniably
and incontrovertibly
unmistakable

Friday random ten
(Superboy takes a plutonium wife)

• Merica – Live
• Gone to the Movies – Semisonic
• U.S. Forces – Midnight Oil
• Peace on Earth – U2
• Bertha – Los Lobos
• Goodnite – Melody Gardot
• The Only Living Boy in New York – Simon & Garfunkel
• The Boys of Summer – Don Henley
• Lookin’ Forward – Over the Rhine
• Rattlesnake – Live

Ending as we began: Two songs from the same album act as bookends this week. The artist is obvious and I know, to some people reading this, the album is, too.
Local artistry: One really local to Philly, one band kind of local, in Melody Gardot and Live, respectively.

Sing me songs of no denying:
Brian
Ellen
Jessica
Lauren
Rachel
The Editor
Troy

greasing the wheels of time

it’ll last longer
if you don’t obsess over
when it will be gone.