Showtime.

Yesterday I had the privilege to see the first show of a good friend of mine. I listened to her through the mud of the drugs I'm on (I had my wisdom teeth removed). What I heard was history in the making. Sarah's voice channels and echoes back her musical heroes (like Bethany Dillon and her own mom), but her persona is all her own. In front of her family, friends, teachers, and various strangers, her nerves seemed nonexistent. The confidence in her show was that of a seasoned performer. Her set was populated by fun cover songs and her own soul-stirring efforts. Some of these songs were written just one week before the show! However, what really sent my heart soaring was a song that I witnessed come into being long ago. "Why can't you be happy for me?", Sarah searchingly asked the crowd. Nobody answered; they were stunned speechless, like I was.

I never had this man as a teacher, but last night, I had him for a role model. Rob Williams sang his heart out to a crowd that, well, let's face it, came for Sarah. I was incredibly impressed by his Thrash Punk Folk. Yes, I'll call it that, because there's no direct comparison I can up with (besides the beautiful love-child of Tom Petty and Ted Leo). I really wish that he had been my teacher for US/VA history last year. It is truly enviable to be able to share your vitality both on stage and in the classroom. Anywho, the way he slammed the strings of his worn out guitar was evocative of the passion and intelligence in his songwriting. I can relate to him because the tougher the thought I need to express is, the more I abuse my strings. Rob gave out his CDs free, which was awesome because I already bought some of his music and now I can share his talent with other people. From now on, I will smile and think of him dancing and singing in the Common Groundz when I see him at school.

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Accountability. Whatever kind of accountability it is, spiritual, personal, I think you can find it on places like Facebook and Myspace. Some people worry that kids will fall into disgraceful and inappropriate activities online, but I think that's often not the case. More and more adults, community leaders, and young kids are logging on to Facebook. To misrepresent yourself online, you would be working against your character. I don't walk around in real life worrying about offending a 9 year old with my words, so I don't see why I would behave any differently online. Consistency really is a freedom when you are the same person in whatever situation you come across, whether online or off. So go ahead, add your mom to your top friends.
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I picked up a movie at the library, Mutual Appreciation. I read the first sentence on the back of the DVD... "Alan's quest for success in music and love is hampered by one thing - himself." Needless to say, I wondered why someone wrote and directed a movie about me.

but it was really boring