Thanks for the advice, I will ignore it !

Growing up we all got a lot of advice from parents , coaches , teachers and religious instructors (you are going to hell, don't say you know me ! ).  Even as adults we get advice daily from possibly caring, often opportunistic sources like self help books, life coaches, TV doctors (Oz and Phil) and even our dreams (Andy Warhol told me to buy Google last night).  It can all become a bit too much if you get my driftwood, a real pain in the solar plexiglass ( malaprops intended ). 

For this very reason I have devised a revolutionary advice avoidance and interpretation system that will allow us to inflate our own egos and perhaps put some of those media smart alecs on the unemployment line. Known as the Wisdom Translation Filter, or WTF, the system gladly accepts advice as input, and magically converts it to proof of one of the 10 commandments or truisms that I have deemed essential to continued life on the  planet. Here is a simple real life example:

The car mechanic tells me "your truck has something very wrong with the emission system or the fuel line and may explode. You should have that checked out".  I immediately discount and ignore his advice based on commandment #3: Anyone with auto grease between their teeth is untrustworthy.  Mission accomplished as Jorge Bushelo would say.

The next example involves a foolish train conductor who smugly advised me to "move to another car because the AC is broken in this one". Due to intense training in the WTF dogma, the left side of my brain (know as the hippo-inertial lobe)  flashes the warning IGNORE IGNORE - IGNORAMOUS ENCOUNTERED. This is based on commandment #7: Any civil servant wearing more than 100 buttons on their hat has most likely suffered brain damage from toxic metal seepage. Avoid and ignore them at all costs. I stayed in the car and wound up losing 3 pounds. I happened to be on a diet and did not have to go to the gym that night. So the WTF system does work !

Although I would not force this philosophy (dare I say manifesto?) on any right thinking American, should you be looking to start a dictatorship or theocracy in another country, or at the local Knights of Columbus hall, it is a great base to build on. The 10 commandments are:

1.  Never pay more than $10 (tip included ) for a haircut.  What, you already knew that one? How did you know?
2. If you see a restaurant with a fairly long line of cats outside, they probably serve great seafood. 
3. Mentioned above.
4. Donald Trump's hair is a totally self sufficient ecosystem, similar to parts of the Amazon jungle. It absorbs oxygen and false praise and emits hate, bigotry, lies and UV rays that sometimes cause transition sunglass lenses to darken.
5. Decaf coffee and non-alcoholic beer should be outlawed. They make as much sense as invisible paint. If you don't want them, or can't have them, leave them alone. 
6.  Aliens have abducted a fairly high percentage of the New York population and replaced them with exact replicas. The one tell-tale sign of these creatures is a predilection for playing Pokemon Go. Once the leaders of the foreign planet have sufficient location info about earth (transmitted by Pokemon Go) , they  will invade the planet and appoint Ichiro Suzuki as supreme leader. Can't wait !
7. Please see above. 

Well that's it. Oh you say I should have 10 commandments? I will ignore that. 

Basil update: those vegetables are a loyal, tightly knit crew! I was eavesdropping the other morning  under the guise of weeding and watering, when I heard the basil, peppers and tomatoes talking. "We have to stick together. Here in the garden, on the cutting board, in salads, in their mouths, stomachs and beyond, don't ever let them break us up".  A tear came to my eye, or was that just the morning dew?

Keep the Faith y'all !

You don't want to do this !

As Adam Duritz of Counting Crows pleadingly instructs  in Murder of One "You don't want to waste your life!" Hmmmm, of course we don't want to waste our life, especially given that so many caring, talented people die young , and others with great potential live in countries where their skills are repressed or bring punishment.  

But remember what Spider man taught us, that "with great power comes great responsibility."   

In the good ole' US of A, pretty much everyone's potential is unimpeded by external forces , although money, connections and the proper ethnic profile certainly help. 

You can pick and choose how you want to give back, to charities, or embracing volunteerism in many ways, be they religious, political or cultural.  One could argue that by giving back, contributing to the greater good, we can securely conclude that we do not waste our life.  I beg to differ.  

"Now some guys they just give up living, start dyeing little by little, piece by piece. Some guys come home from work and wash up, and go racin' in the street." This Is Bruce from Racing in the Street  off the Darkness album.  I do believe it is true that when you ignore what your talents are, and stop doing what truly gives you your identity, then yes you do start dyeing, or at least that magical force inside you that makes you unique starts to die.  So keep racing in the street, even if it is en route to the early bird special at Red Lobster.    

I had an ancient history teacher at Manhattan College who was asked by an engineer why he needed to know anything about ancient history.  Professor Hazeltine responded: "when you graduate and get a job you must decide whether you want to come home from work each night and watch TV and drink beer in your tee shirt. Is that a satisfactory life?"  I guess the point was that we must be open to all types of knowledge and never stop learning.   

We are in violent agreement with you Adam, we don't want to waste our life ! 

To distill all of the above into one  sentence, y'all better fulfill your potential by doing what you do best to the nth degree and in the process make this world a better place. If, ny ding so, you happen to make 12 trillion dollars and became a national hero/heroine, then God bless you.  

Murder Mystery:

Only recently did I come to know that a "group" of crows is called a "murder of crows".  Thus the autobiographical "Murder of One" mentioned above. The whole crow story in the song also sounds like a reference to Don Juan from the Carlos Castaneda books, who did happen to turn into a crow.

Basil Report:

Normally it is mid-May when I feel safe from the frost to plant my precious veggies. Given 

the recent insane temperatures, this year it may be June or July. 

Keep the faith brothers and sisters.

Sent from my iPhone

The Holy Trinity

In my speech to the academy I will thank the holy trinity for making this blog possible. Linda for gifting me the new exercise bike, Kaila for reminding/inspiring me to blog, and Kristin for donating her old iPhone 5 to the cause. Aha, you may ask, how did these 3 occurrences intersect to make this blog  happen? 

This simple formula shows the relationship:

 (Exertion on the bike + desire to blog) * music from Iphone = creative result 

For me the creative energy starts to percolate as my heart rate increases, especially as the sweat starts to flow (bringing me closer to God),  as exertion creates relaxation and some type of portal opens. Unfortunately I do not lay pen to paper regarding my thoughts until much later. The primary ideas are now created with some details, but the fleshing out is a future activity.  Another formula pertaining to the efficiency of the final creative result:

Quality of music * (100 - days between workout and blog completion) = blog quality.   

Now that you know the mechanics, let's get to the subject matter:

U2's album (I use that term in a nostalgic, sarcastic way, protesting the fact that current musical media has no cohesive or logical quality) "How to dismantle an atomic bomb" is the value of the 

 

music from iPhone 

 

variable In above equation.   On to the review of the album and my life so far:

Vertigo: great starting track, when I heard it on the radio so many years ago  I thought it was "a band trying to sound like early U2"

Miracle drug: it exists, but you must make it yourself, not with a chemistry set, but by determination and a keen sense of perception and trust. Sometimes though it has no effect and that is why you need your coffeemaker.  

Sometimes you can't make it on your own: so simple and so difficult for many to learn.  In the midst of doing the right thing and making your loved ones proud, you may forget this.  Don't worry, we (and Bono) will remind you. 

Love  and Peace or else: ah yes irony at play here.  This song came on 10 years ago when Bob Denk and I were riding in the car and  I advised him that this was U2.  "I'm not that old. I know it's U2". You go Bob ! Given the state of the world where, in fact, is Love and Peace? 

City of Blinding Lights: anthemic, cascsding, innocent, you can't fool

us though Bono you ain't so sensitive and vulnerable are you?  And that group "ooh, ooh,ooh, ooh,ooh actually reminds me of the end of Born to Run.  

All Because of You: Very simply, we can interpret this to mean that we are a product of our environment. The collective "you" has made we who I am and created my frame of reference and my world view. But in more personal terms we all have important people in our lives that have made us what we are. Thank those people every day.  

A Man and a Woman: Is that high-pitched vocal at the end Bono or The Edge ? My money is on The Edge. "When the soul needs, the soul waits". What is so magical and important about waiting? Don Juan emphasized this with Castanada: "A man of knowledge waits, because that is all he can do. He waits and he sees. "

Crumbs from your Table: Bono's range takes us to "The Edge".  What does the song mean ? Who cares, this is the quintessence of U2 and cannot fail.  

One Step Closer: "to knowing". Hanging out to dry in my old clothes.  Does Bono have old clothes? Yes we are all searching for knowledge, often in dumb places.  

Original of the Species: apologies to Chuck for the title. A typically simple U2 diddy, with Bono's great voice and clever lyrics making it all work in a way that makes you think that things come way too easily to that Irish lad.  

Yahweh: yes yes Bono is spiritual and any Christian must trace his roots back to Yahweh, Hebrew for "I am who am".  Just as you think it's boring The Edge wakes up and chimes in.  Sufficiently religious sounding that it makes you feel guilty about not liking it.  

David Bowie RIP: wow he is gone.  A key contributor to the soundtrack of my youth. When they open the Ziggy Stardust exhibit at the Smithsonian in 5 years, Bowie will have written, produced, performed, or influenced 50% of the music being listened to on the personal  headphones by the attendees, and perhaps people around the world.  Ziggy....played....guitar !  

Basil Update: To plant seeds now or just buy plants then, that is the question ! Please help me decide. 

Keep the Faith, and pray for Trump's barber !