MILES, MAN, PLAY WHAT AIN'T THERE.

Jeremy told me recently:

"You make me sound much funnier than I am."

It was in reference to a 2013 interview I did with him about Science that recently resurfaced and has been making its way around the web. You just never know.

You can find it here. You will find it more enlightening than an E.L. James novel and possibly less so than A Brief History of Time.

This compliment from Mr. Long meant a great deal, because it is a goal of mine. A partial goal anyway.




In the same way that fiction writers make up stories in order to get to the truth, and musicians leave out notes in order to get to the best ones, and photographers leave out parts of an image in order to draw attention to the most important part...

...I like to frame my conversations and happenings with people, when I write about them later, in such a way that the most interesting and unique bits of both trivial and epic elements are squeezed together, and the rest is dumped behind, and what you have left is a version that is the truth plus or minus a little, but with the spirit intact, the best parts bumped up in the mix, some surprising portions elevated to important status, and...

...the rest left out. I love journalists and journalism, but I ain't one.

Miles Davis said this:

Don't play what's there, play what's not there.

One of my worst and most enduring traits is extrapolating ideas from quotes I like that aren't necessarily intended to work in the way I'm making them work. But Miles dug his own groove, as do I. He'd think I was a nerd. He'd be right. But he'd learn to dig me.

What's the obvious thing you think of in answering a question? Any question. What's the obvious answer. It's called gut instinct, or common sense, or what Jung might call the collective unconscious, where we share archetypes of certain ideas that get kicked around without really thinking about it, but here's the thing, if it's the first thing you're thinking of, then...

...it's probably the first thing everybody else is thinking of too. So if you've got a 12-note chromatic scale in front of you to play and you've got an instrument, you got, I don't know, how many different directions you can go with those twelve notes?

You got an almost-infinite variety, so how do we end up with so much music that sounds the same? That sounds so identical to one another?

We get used to playing the same notes, and looking at the same notes, or more importantly, paying attention to the notes other people are playing around us, and those are the ones we keep going back to. The ones that pop up the fastest and first. They're familiar. They make sense. They sound good.

Somebody like Miles or Charlie come along, bopping and sliding and peckin around for some different notes, some other ways of finding the pretty ones that don't seem to be quite right there. But here's the thing: they are there.

They are. There. They're just not the obvious ones.

Like I said. Great life lesson. Look for the things that ain't obvious. The people that may not be the loudest. The word that may not be the first to leap to mind. The way of approaching an idea or challenge that is a few steps removed from the way everyone else seems to be looking at it.

Common sense can be a good thing. Shortcuts can be a good thing. Finding efficient ways of doing things can be a good thing.

That's all fine.

But when you want to bring something original, something beautiful and different into the world, whether it's a composition or an idea or a painting or whatever, and

whether it's on a massive epic level or a little tiny trivial level,

you gotta be willing to ask yourself:

What can I leave out? 

and

What seems to not be there, but is there, and is getting ignored or underutilized?   (that applies to people, perhaps more than anything else)

He learned the rules, he learned the notes, and then he found different ways of playing them.

Anyone could have. Anyone can. Principle's the same for anything.

Find what's not there. Or doesn't seem to be there.

Play it.

Miles, he was something.

You can be too.

And Jeremy was half right. Yeah, I hope I can help people bring out and highlight the best parts of themselves.

But he's also pretty funny.

I just leave it out when he's not.

ONE MORE CANISTER OF COFFEE.

HIM.

Daddy?
he asked.

When you're a sumo wrestler, is it legal to yank down the other wrestler's underwear?

Well,
I said.
I do not know the answer to that question. But it is my favourite question of today.

And it remained the fave.

___

One of the things I love about this boy is the range of his interest, the depth of his curiosity, and his ability to throw himself in equal measure into both physical pursuits and mental ones. To go from racing around the house like one of his current heroes, Jesse Owens, and then go to crafting stories and artwork like his current hero...now that I think about it, I am actually uncertain as to who his current inspirations are. Although he has enjoyed Vermeer as of late, and done his own version of the Girl with the Peal Earring. It's entitled Boy with the Pearl Earring.

Currently bouncing around reading three different books on reptiles, a bio of George Washington Carver, and the Roald Dahl classic Matilda.


___


HER.
Endless, boundless energy, bottled up like human nuclear fusion, with a spirit free and wit to dagger Oscar Wilde.

We have found a shared love of film. I love it so much.

Some families have stringent screen times rules. That's great. To each their own. But I guess in ours...we use what we use when we need what we need, and what we watch, we watch together. A shared and communal experience. Of course, that does not include Becca and I watching Amazing Mrs. Maisel or Designated Survivor after hours.

We're currently watching Spielberg's Lincoln. Already a lengthy story at 2.5 hours, it's turning into a four-hour epic with our frequent stops for explanations and discussion about what's happening.

I like how he focuses on the last months of the Civil War and shows the agony he faces in trying to balance, politically, the conjoined horrors of 1) ending the war and 2) ending slavery; knowing that they're intertwined and that timing will be everything.

There's a lot to explain and talk through. Habeas corpus. The nature of the Republican and Democrat parties then versus now.

You mean...the Republicans were the ones who were fighting to end slavery?!

Yep.
I said.
That's how it used to be. Lincoln's party. Ain't his party no more. No way.

___


HIM II.
These are today's treasures that brought him joy.

Gonna get on a high horse here for a sec: remember this image as Christmas approaches, fellow citizens and parents.

This is joy.

An empty canister of coffee to collect outdoor treasures in. A water bottle. A hat to keep semi-warm from the biting Gorge winds.

Joy. What do you need?

___


THEM.
A little of this, a little of that, and one more of this.

Post-race. She came in first this time around with a time of 28.23 seconds around the house. But silver is honorable as well. 33.07.

And there was one disqualified for not finishing. Or starting.

CHARACTER TRAITS | ADVENTURE.

A character trait we’re focusing on this month is Adventurous.

What does it mean to be adventurous; to have the spirit of an adventurer, to adventure into unknown or uncomfortable or dangerous territory? Can someone be adventurous in certain areas and not others?

Is it always a positive attribute? What other traits are related and often go hand-in-hand? And importantly: how do you KEEP AND BUILD a spirit of adventure throughout your life, not just childhood?

An embedded way of approaching life in every facet, not just in the ‘Jack London physical quest into untamed territory’ type? And who are good examples of adventurous spirits in cinema, literature, and history?

I am a big proponent of little ongoing and frequent adventures being as important as occasional bigger ones. Ones where you create, or explore, or discover something in a way that is exciting and unique and different than just approaching as a task to be completed. The road, the long winding road should be filled with wrong turns and side streets and abrupt stops.

Good thing I’m bad at directions.

___

FIRST DAY?

School Districts still on strike. No agreement yet. So no official first day at the alternative school 45 minutes away we commute to twice a week to join other families with similar educational investments in their children. 

I told the children today would be a soft start. Meaning we ran through a handful of items: 

• Khan Academy overview
• "About Me" posters. Always a highlight of the year. I love seeing the changes year to to year. They'll be working on them over the next couple weeks. I gave the first five items to include:
• Name and grade
• Animals
• Foods, desserts, drinks
• Future career
• Type of home, house, hut, castle, van, etc. they want to someday live in
• German and Latin. Jumping back into our explorations into Romance languages, which will also include a heavy dose of Greek prefixes, suffixes, and roots, and probably include more than a handful of stories ancient history, despite the fact that we're focusing on History of the Americas this year. :) 
• Coding. Johannes will continue with block-based, Magdelana will be moving into Javascript right away. 
• Photography. 

Of course their little brother is in the thick of it all. Off we go. Another year of adventure and exploration ahead!

MUSIC : Five thoughts on Sepultura, U2, James, Kings of Leon, Avett Brothers.

1. 1974

I firmly believe that the very best music, like a lot of great art, often takes time to absorb and appreciate. It may not immediately impress itself upon you. Many of my favourite artists have a mix of accessible and challenging compositions that have sometimes taken years for me to fall head over heels for. Radiohead. Grandaddy. Charlie Parker.

Regarding Van Morrison : the Irish Van Morrison that consistently lands a handful of albums on critics' 'all-time best albums' lists:

I don't get. I want to like him. I want to love him.

But I don't. If I want mournful, stripped down melody, I'll go with quiet Neil Young, or Sea of Bees, or Joni Mitchell, or...any number of others. I'll take Van Morrison over James Taylor. But not by much.

I'm trying to get through Veedon Fleece again while I'm working. It's not that I hate it. It's that it's so...blasé.

I'm not giving up on him. But close.

1986

2. 1993

I am very picky about the metal I listen to. I much prefer Brazilian Max Cavalera's later bands, Soulfly and Killer Be Killed, to the 90s outfit that made him a legend: Sepultura. But I still enjoy pulling them out occasionally, and The Hunt, from 1993's Chaos A.D. is a worthy chug-chug with his inimitable growly growl. And if you want a bit of that tribal rhythm he loves playing around with, give the title track, Chaos A.D., a spin.

feb 2003

3.  2014

U2's Songs of Innocence has left me unimpressed. Haven't listened for a few years. Love them, although they're not up there with the majestic sometimes-similar sounding James. Speaking of whom: I absolutely love love love track seven off 2016's The Girl at the End of the World. The song is Surfer's Song and I watched the stars sparkling recently while listening to it on repeat and it is magical. Vintage James: soaring vocals, heartfelt lyrics, insistent rhythm section to keep you tapping, intimate verses with big choruses...tres magnifique. 

Know that your love's right

Whatever your incline

Be the bright light

In these dark times

Clearing the high bar

Hearing the crowd roar

Here comes, here comes, here comes

aug 1990 / shingletown, california

The swell, swell, swell

june 2018 / cape kiwanda, pacific city, oregon

Cascading over me

Their gorgeous La Petite Mort from 2014 is still a very special album to me, and possibly - possibly - my favourite. I can play Walk Like You, Frozen Britain, All I'm Saying, and Moving On over and over and over...

4. 2016

Over. Track 5 off Kings of Leon's WALLS. Rugged, modern mashup of rootsy Americana and designer jean rock n' roll.

Current Top 5 KoL tracks:
A. Sex on Fire (2008)
B. Over (2016)
C. True Love Way (2007)
D. Eyes On You (2016)
E. Tonight (2013)

I read an article about them a decade ago and the only thing I remember is one of their girlfriends talking about how they all wore jeans that were so skinny and tight they had to shimmy into them in contortions that even she couldn't manage. No idea why that stuck with me. Totally irrelevant. Except there's a strange humor in realizing some great arena-ready rock and roll country is being made by guys who need help squeezing into their pants. Maybe not that unusual now that I think about it. It's hard to imagine Willie Nelson doing that though.

One of my faves, Rachel, was telling me about how much she's been enjoying Avett Brothers, which is what made me dig up my old Kings and Avett albums. I'm hoping to have the same slow re-discovery experience with Avett that I did with Leon: slow burn fall in love. She says Emotionalism is awesome. She may be right, she often is. She is my only friend I know who actively loves James so much, as much as I do, and I love that.

My friend Jon is my only friend I know who actively read and loved The Great Brain book series as a kid. I love that too. Totally different.

photo of me by jon / june 2016

Those bonds you build over shared literary and music affections can be so beautiful and important. 

5. 2007

Circles. You give help, you get help. You give advice, you accept advice. You make recommendations, you listen to others' recommendations. 

Relationships are about circles. Closing circles, or trying to create some sort of closure with Cubist oval-shaped connecting lines that entangle and cross over and around each other and eventually meet up and close the gap.

spoiler:

these ones have 

permanent residencies (see: below) 

I love music, and have loved learning about and absorbing music since I was around 12 years old (Ghostbusters II and Batman soundtracks on cassette, thank you). I've listened and thought about a lot of music, and I've given a lot of recommendations about what I like. When I give one, I try to think about the specific person and how they might appreciate it. Sometimes I try and keep my mouth shut. Still haven't found any of my friends or family who dig Deafheaven like I do.

But give and take. I know the joy that can come from introducing someone to something they fall in love with, and it's best when it's a two-headed arrow. If I'm asking you to take a listen to something, it's fair that I take a listen to something important to you. 

Which is also why I don't go just making recommendations to anybody. I'm not interested in making time to listen to some people's junky taste in music. Yes, I just said that. But just like I can't be friends with everyone, I can't listen to the music everyone around me likes. I have a small and expanding group of people I trust to recommend well. 

And sometimes I listen to a recommendation to give a second chance to something I passed on once. The Avett Brothers. I listened to them a while back and liked their idea more than their songs. Fun and folksy instrumentation, but nothing struck me as super special. But recently, someone said: 

I am loving the Avett Brothers. 

And that's all I needed. Because I trust her. We are not in total sync; she gave Deafheaven one sad listen on the way to snowboard at Mt. Hood (poor timing on my part). She dig Phish and the Grateful Dead and I'm still waiting for her to provide reasons why I should like either band. Or at least some opening tracks to make the introduction to their bottomless catalogs less daunting. 

But I know she has reasons for loving what she loves, and even if we disagree, there will be potential for good banter, argument, and discussion. And I love it when people are excited about something. She's excited about the A. Bros. So I gave - am giving - them a second chance. 

She said their 2007 album Emotionalism is great. I happen to have it, and I happen to have listened to it two times a decade ago and made up my mind. So I took a re-listen with fresh ears. 

There are three songs touching my heart quickly on this third go-round. 

1. Shame

2. I Would Be Sad

3. Will You Return?

The little flourishes I'm picking up on, especially when the piano bubbles in. And some of the couplets feel handpicked from my brain. 

I wish you'd see yourself as beautiful as I see you

Why can't you see yourself as beautiful as I see you?

How do you ever know what others think of you, or how they see you? 

You don't. 

And that's okay. I don't care what most people think of me. I am me. The bulk of me tries to be kind, respectful, and interesting to everyone I interact with. And the bulk of me is ambivalent about whether most people think of me, my style, my work, my thoughts and philosophies and preferences. They can like who I am and all the traits and preferences and eccentricities and foibles I bring. Or not...

1998

...but there is a core part, a small and integral part, that cares very much what some people, what certain and select ones, think of me. It's a deeply vulnerable thing to admit that you care what someone thinks. I think in this respect, I may possibly be normal-ish, aside from the fact that I acknowledge and own it, though I have no plans to provide a full list. :) 

I want the people closest to me to know what I think of them. I have no plans to die today, or tomorrow, or next week. I hope I don't. 

But I don't know. I simply have no idea how many days I have on this earth. 

And the people I love...why not effing say it? 

Say: 

"I care what you think."

Say: 

"Your opinion matters a lot to me."

Say: 

"You're beautiful. Try seeing yourself as I see you."

Such a beautiful line to build an entire cornerstone of a life philosophy around. I choose to do so. 

Avett Brothers nailed it. 

Here's to third chances. Thanks, Rach. And maybe don't give up on Deafheaven.





___






Deafheaven / Luna off New Bermuda (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifyQfFNgO3E

A LETTER TO ALMOST-BIG PEOPLE.

Dear Almost Big Person, and Friends,

it takes a long time,
but finally you get there
and you realise
how cool it is to be big,

and then the nostalgia's
gonna kick in, kid.
ya still got a few moments of child-living left.
you're not all the way big yet.

but just about.

and when you're there,
all the way big,
you can eat popsicles whenever you want,
with your main peeps on each side twenty-four-seven;
that's how cool it is to be big,

today, ya just get one treat though,
cause you're not big enough for two.
enjoy that first one, don't ever forget it,
it'll be the best spinach-and-veggie popsicle your mama'll ever find ya.

and you don't have to do anything you don't wanna,
that's what it'll be like when you're all the way big.
but try to enjoy the journey for a tiny longer.
it ain't too good being little,

but it ain't all bad either.

there's a downside to getting big, maybe two:
ya gotta shower once a month or so,
or other big people get sore.

enjoy the bigness, and don't hurry it up.

sincerely,

A Really Cool Big Person.

SISTERS DRESSING BROTHERS.

Be yourself. The best version of yourself. Or at least the most stylish.

And if you have a sister, always trust their fashion advice. Always.

DEAF HEAVEN IN THE WATERFALL DRENCHED FOREST.

52. I listen to classical and metal, and my family and I hike year round. Three things that bring me joy, focus, and peace. Happy November. The grey, the rain, the sun, the wet, the fog, the green, the blue, my colorblind-ish eyes dig it all. Dry socks are nice too. And hot chocolate with little floaty marshmallows at the end, thanks @countessbecca 😘 ____ #rachmaninov #pnw #columbiagorge #waterfalls #44landscapes #deafheaven #44pacificnwplaces

A post shared by Joseph Long (@josephivanlong) on Nov 18, 2017 at 11:58pm PST

SADLY, NO MORE POLITICS FOREVER, FOR A WHILE.

the infinite sadness of November 8 signaling the end of election season.

VIDEO GAMES (RIVER STYX EDITION).

LEMONY SNICKET ADVICE.

“Are you ready?" Klaus asked finally.
"No," Sunny answered.
"Me neither," Violet said, "but if we wait until we're ready we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives, Let's go.”

― Lemony Snicket, The Ersatz Elevator

One of my favourite bits of advice ever. Go make a happy weekend.

FIVE THINGS THAT MAKE MY HEART ALIVE TODAY.

© joseph ivan long 2015

1. Discovering that longtime fave British art-punk band Clinic somehow had a great little 2010 album, Bubblegum, that slipped past my radar.

2. Seeing our daughter's joy at getting a package in the mail today from a summer friend, and hoping that perhaps these friendships will help keep the U.S. Postal Service alive so that my children and children's children won't have to go to a museum to find out what a postage stamp is.

3. Watching children play with marbles.

4a.
The Decemberists' Wrong Year,
Colin Stetson's The Sun Roars Into View,
Sleater-Kinney's Hey Darling

4b. Janelle Monáe.

5a, I. My parents. Who have been married a hundred years as of today. The exact number of years escape me. If you were to round to the nearest hundred, it would technically be zero, but since that doesn't work we'll stick with a century. Today, specifically, I am appreciative for two things they have passed along:

5a, II. a willingness to laugh at themselves and not spend lives consumed with what others might think of them.

5b. an ability to give attention. Attention that is focused and veers between quiet and loud; the kind that makes you feel special. And always loved.

5d. a love that is sincere, vibrant, positive, often hilarious, and built around not perfection, but constant improvement. A model well worth observing and learning from.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad.

VIDEO GAMES.

Playstation (Deluxe Classic Edition with Unlimited Bonus Levels*).

Washougal River / ©2015 Joseph Ivan Long

*until bedtime

ANDRE.

I don't know what would be the greater gift for my son:
to inherit
my style,
or
to inherit
my tennis skills.

If the universe is just, he will ever-so-slightly surpass me in both areas,
but that would take magic or miracle or commitment,
because the bar has been set high,

with at least one of the two,

give or take one.

BIRTHDAY #5.

May you be smart enough to use the current when it's taking you where you want.

And may you be strong enough to swim against it when it's not.

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE.
Our daughter and her cousins wanted to pool their money together to buy her brother a fifty-cent birthday present. They came up a little short.

Fortunately, her overly-kindhearted aunt was on hand to chip in the remaining two quarters.

ICARUS-SAN.

It is a happy talent to know how to play,* especially if you are combining moves from Karate Kid into it.**

Playing is truly one of those skills that you have to fight hard to hang onto. Fortunately, I knew early on I would work hard to fight hard for play. Don't get rusty at it. You can't play properly by walking elegantly on two feet. You should either be on hands and knees, or fumbling through the air in search of flight. That is playing. And if you blow out a knee or two, then..maybe you were playing incorrectly, and now you can practice walking on your hands.

*Ralph Waldo Emerson
**Joseph Ivan Long

EXPLORATIONS: CAPE KIWANDA, KHAL.

Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Isaac Newton, Fred Jones, Steven Spielberg, and Genghis Khan, as well as Khal Drogo, were all children once too.

And some of them probably played on the beach. I hope Einstein did.

The ways in which childhood shapes every person differently.

I'm considering writing an unauthorized novel about a young Marlon Brando and the summer he visited his great-uncles at the seashore.

This is the book cover. Now I just need to write the book.

EXPLORING: HAPPY CAMP.

to go home.

I'VE GOT THE SUN ON YOUR BACK.

A cuppa Joe*,
a good cap,
morning sun on your back**
sounds of the city
and someone to pal around with
and not correct you for improperly using prepositional phrases and such.
As the Utah Saints said in the only good song they ever wrote:
there's gotta be something good about today.
Find it.
smile emoticon
____
*or something hot non-caffeinated
**or face, depending on which way you're facing, or if you're in Australia

Powell's Books

WORK.
There's a lot to grumble about in the world.
And I totally love grumbling.
It feels good,
like you're doing everyone a favor by noticing all the things not right.
Some places are really hard to grumble in.
Which means you have to work at it.
No couches?
No lemonade on tap? What's with the harsh light?!
If you're willing to work hard though, and really
take time away from doing something fun, then it's definitely possible to find something worth grumbling about.
The value of hard work.
Don't give up.
Just because you think you're happy,
doesn't mean you should be.
So look around.
There is probably something wrong.
You might have to work hard to find it.
Depending on where you are.
You can do it.
____
Happy* Mondays, universe smile emoticon
*unless you're working**
**see above

STETSON ON STAIRS.

Some things you fall in love with, and you hold tight because they are special.

Some things you fall in love with, and you share with everyone because they are special.

This image has actually little to do with what I have fallen in love with, aside from having an affection of some level for the humans on the stairs. What I have fallen in love with, in a different way, is the music of Colin Stetson, an incredible multiphonic saxophonist whose compositions and almost completely non-overdubbed atmospheres are alternately jarring and gorgeous. I found this image appropriate.

So, you might check out these three tracks:
+To See More Light
+The Rest of Us
+High Above a Grey Green Sea

Maybe they'll float your rowboat, maybe not. If not...there's always Kelly Clarkson.

THE WAFFLES AND WISDOM OF SUN-TZU.

"The key to good eavesdropping is not getting caught."

- Violet Baudelaire, from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Which brings us to my point, which is that finding high ground is good for at least six things, not limited to, but definitely including: reading a book, launching a blitzkrieg attack, defending against a wicked enemy with a horde of soldiers at her command, avoiding a flood, and hiding from tall polar bears, which is a potential situation worth considering. Also, you are closer to rainbows. Also, if you carry a portable* ladder around, it makes it easier. Or, always keep a tall person close by. I am five foot nine.

Happy Day, universe smile emoticon

*as opposed to non-portable, which is more challenging to move