Planned Parenthood
On the street, Edward refused to take my hand, issuing a long, withdrawn, "Nooooooooooo!" So I carried him.
On the subway platform, the roar of the trains scared him. So I held him, whispering, "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
Abbi and I took Ethan and Edward for a few, long hours this afternoon. Eighty blocks, four subways, three historic buildings, two carousel rides and one gift shop were more than enough. The boys were mostly adorable, to be sure. But the pressure was immense. Everything was a ...
Our Own Devices
Left to my own devices, I would spend my time off in one of two ways: sitting on a beach drinking local beer after a three-dive day, or sitting on my couch watching movies, reading Esquire, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair or a good rock bio.
And in fact, I've done a fair dose of the latter in the last two weeks, plowing through Julianna Hatfield's "When I Grow Up," Jancee Dunn's "But Enough About Me" and Sting's "Broken Music."
The problem with my own devices, though, is that they tend towards entropy. Refrigerators lie fallow, bills ...
Top Ten Stories Of 2008
What with getting engaged, then promoted, and then married -- not to mention honeymooning on the other side of the world and releasing a few albums -- it didn't seem possible that this year could possibly top 2007.
And nothing will ever top that happy day last October.
Still, 2008 gave it the old college try.
I released two albums ("The Invention Of Everything Else," and "Live From Rockwood Music Hall") and spearheaded two benefits ("A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II" and "River Songs").
I spent nearly two months away from home on ...
Top Ten Songs Of 2008
I've said it before: music discovery is a young man's game.
Try as I may, I can't keep up with what's new. Even with my day job. It all sounds like a rehash of The Strokes to me.
I spend all my time listening to This American Life, Fresh Air, and On The Media anyway.
And so, Dear Reader, I offer this modest but well-considered list.
These Top Ten Songs of 2008 include two tunes from old standbys (REM and Counting Crows), two cliches (Death Cab For Cutie and The Hold Steady), two friends' songs, and two of my own.
Oh well. ...
Top Ten Posts Of 2008
I published 205 posts this year. Assuming an average count of 500 words, that's over 100,000. Compiled onto 12-point, 60-character, 5-inch lined, 250-word pages, 2008 would be a 400 long.
With an average readership of a few hundred friends, family and fans a week and nearly no revenue (not counting a few hundred bucks of record sales), I'd like to think it was all worth something. And in perusing the year, I think it was.
Taken en masse, my favorite posts of 2008 continue to track the shift that -- in retrospect, anyway -- the year ...
Rookie Mistake
I was never much with a shotgun growing up.
Not that I had a ton of exposure to firearms, but they were around. My father's family, most of whom still live in Waterloo, Iowa, frequently spent weekends hunting pheasant, duck, rabbit and deer. Invariably, they'd let me tag along on a hunt, even if I did get squeamish when someone actually shot a living thing. And somewhere along the cold, tedious walk through some frigid, Midwestern field, someone would set up a few tin cans, position that shotgun in my arms, and laugh as the recoil tossed ...
Low Country Christmas
Cashmere and wool were the first casualties of our arrival in Charleston.
The air was warm and wet. The sky wide and blue. Even with the wreaths that adorn the white picket gates of Bray's Island, I wasn't sure it was Christmas.
My memories of the season are whited-out and frozen-over, not laid low with mist. But who am I to complain? When Christmas morning came in at 67° and hazy, I lit out for a quick run around the ponds. The grass was wet with dew. The water was kissed with fog. Egrets and herons stirred from with each ...
“A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II” Raises $3000 For Youth Literacy
This morning, I sent a check to 826NYC on behalf of all the artists and fans behind "A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II."
Together, we increased last year's contribution by a third by raising $3000 to support students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and help teachers inspire their students to write.
Thanks to singer/songwriters Deena Goodman, Chris Abad, Casey Shea, Derek James, Ian Axel, Jamie Leonhart, Dov Rosenblatt, Rosi Golan, Amber Rubarth, Bryan Dunn, Nate Campany, Brent Shuttleworth, and "house band" ...
Night Revolves On Invisible Wheels
Katie met Fabrizio as a child when she traveled to her father's hometown in the Italian Alps.
Thirty years later, Katie and Fabrizio reconnected at a relative's wedding.
Six weeks later, Katie and Fabrizio stood in a snow-swept cove of Central Park exchanging vows.
Abbi and I stood in the wings, huddled together against the cold. Abbi and Katie's mutual roommate, Heather, presided. Her husband, Andrew, stood proudly just off my shoulder. The intimate affair lasted just a few, frozen moments.
Soon, the color palette shifted ...
And The Winner Is…
A week ago, I attempted to move a few extra copies of "A Holiday Benefit, Vol. II" with a raffle.
Every purchase automatically entered the buyer to win a copy of the charity CD signed by each of the eleven artists, plus signed copies of their respective CDs.
So tonight, I wrote everyone's name on a slip of paper (one for each purchase), put 'em in a hat, and had Abbi pick at complete random.
And the winner is...
Heather Stansfield!
I first met Heather when she hosted one of my "Almost Home" living room tour stops back in 2003. ...
