.Sherowski Daily.

Of a rainy night, I sat down to watch Bruce Springsteen’s entire keynote speech at this year’s South By Southwest. As it turns out, it’s a fine way to spend 50 minutes. Look, I mean it’s the Boss. Giving you a mini-music-culture history lesson. And more.

Things covered in said speech:

•The tragic unknowability of women.

•The sheer ugliness and honesty of The Animals.

•Honing his craft, from zit-faced then to silver foxed now.

•The grit and spit of the blues. “These were soul men and women—not teen idols.”

•The way things that are the “best ever” to you still SUCK to someone else.

•The way country music is like “blues for adults.”

•Bob Dylan: “He is and continues to be the father of my musical country.”

•The small and big things in life that keep us putting one foot in front of the other.

Below are just two snippets, but go HERE to watch the whole thing. WELL worth your while.

admin Uncategorized bruce springsteen, south by southwest, wise words

My days have been grounded in alternately working hard and then lounging and doing nothing, dumbly, on my new couch. I am not burdened by an obsession with material objects, but I can connect with things of quality on a cellular level. With that said, this Dania couch is the new little life-temple that I’m worshipping at.

On a side note, how creepy is it that I cohabitate next to a couple fucking carnivores with razor sharp incisors and maybe, just maybe, one of them might go berzerk someday and decide to breakfast on the flesh inside my skull or something. Nah … ?

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“How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people — first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” — Albert Einstein

Yessssss.

admin Uncategorized albert einstein, human existence, wise words

Excited for this one! Anyone who knows me at all knows that Jack Kerouac is my fave. Always has been, always will be. I know the Sierra Nevadas to be wild and starry-skied because of Dharma Bums. I know the Nor Cal coast to be raw and lonely because of Big Sur. I know love to be a stand off because of The Subterraneans, The Town And The City, On The Road … too many to mention here.

Also, I’ve been having neck problems lately and have resorted to standing on my head daily (good for the spine?), which I know to be something Kerouac did to allay his own neck pain. The act of hunching over a typewriter (back then) and a computer (now) being pretty much on-par bad for one’s back.

Anyhow, I’ve posted this one before, but here t’is again. A poem by Jack Kerouac:

How to Meditate

-lights out-
fall, hands a-clasped, into instantaneous
ecstasy like a shot of heroin or morphine,
the gland inside of my brain discharging
the good glad fluid (Holy Fluid) as
i hap-down and hold all my body parts
down to a deadstop trance-Healing
all my sicknesses-erasing all-not
even the shred of a “I-hope-you” or a
Loony Balloon left in it, but the mind
blank, serene, thoughtless. When a thought
comes a-springing from afar with its held-
forth figure of image, you spoof it out,
you spuff it off, you fake it, and
it fades, and thought never comes-and
with joy you realize for the first time
“thinking’s just like not thinking-
So I don’t have to think
any
more”

admin Uncategorized good books, jack kerouac, on the road

So Cal, you have your sparkling beach break; Jersey, you have your shore. But here in Oregon, our summertimes are defined by “river life.” Actually, it defines both summer and winter—one season, you go to the river, and one season, you think about how awesome it’s gonna be when you get to go to the river again.

The Sandy, the Clackamas, the Washougal, the Lewis … I know it’s not that time of year yet, but I’ve been persevering through rain, cold, and darkness for the next chance to toast on some round river rocks alongside one of these mighty rivers. And I know I’m not alone.

Come mid-June or so, river spots become a replacement for bars and parks and other places to gather. And if you have the whole day, then you’re obviously about to float. Required: Intertube, coozie, sunnies, and river shoes (kicked Vans slip-ons work great!).

Floating from one spot to the next provides soft, lazy hours of quiet, allowing you to contemplate the way the tree tips touch the sky and the odd birch leaf spiraling down stream at the exact same pace as you. Of course, if someone happens to bring a floating cooler, then things get a little loose out there on the river. Only within the realms of fun and safety, though, you understand. You come home from a day like that all sandy, sun-tanned and tired—but good-tired, you know? Ah, river life!

Like I said, I know it’s not summer yet, but my bones are positively ACHING for a river day in the extremely near future. See you out there?

A beauteous rope-swing spot near Hood River.

Lefty loves his unca’ Justin!

The journey is its own reward.

admin Uncategorized lefty, oregon, river life, summer

For the first time in my life I’m having recurring back troubles. Spasm of pain would be a great way to describe my left/mid spinal situation. Unfortunately, it’s not from DOING anything, just from sitting and working, staring at a screen and then a catalog and back to a screen whilst my fingers jab madly at letter keys. It’s awful, this is getting old—I’m DOING IT!

I broke down and went to the chiropractor, and it was enlightening. After sticking me with electrodes, they showed me some sort of computer graph of my spinal tension. Lo and behold, a clusterfuck of biomuscular distress on the right side of my neck! “Everything’s connected,” blah blah blah—but how crazy is it that my neck feels normal to me? According to the doctor, the source of the pain is not where the pain has manifested. It’s a kinda metaphor for my life, really.

In other news, it smelled like spring today and I thought of Easter and cherry blossom canopies.

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