library of thoughts

Minneapolis has a new library and I could not be more impressed. I'm not even a library kind of guy. I check out a book and I only return it three years later when I move and it's under my bed hiding place is discovered. But I vow to make things different this time.

Well, amazing how fast things change. I type that sentence while I'm sitting in comfy leather chair in the Dunn Bros portion of the library. Let It Be by The Beatles was playing. Now it's Air Supply. Or at least I think it's Air Supply. "Here I am, the one that you love...asking for another day...understand the one that you love loves you in so many ways..." Jesus. Terrible.

But I'm not going to let that cloud my judgment of the new library. I can't. The place is just too cool. And very forgiving. My county library books that I just returned after having for two years didn't show up on their system. Lucky break. Instead I owed $16 for assorted fines. They let me pay just one dollar to get me below the $15 limit and scanned my book and sent me on my way.

I got the book I wanted to get too. I'd mention the book but I don't want Farmer Drew to fling poo at it before I get through the first chapter. There's something really reassuring about getting just the book you want. Half the time I leave the library with a stack of books that never get read. The reasons often that there was never a pressing need to get the book in the first place. Not the case with this one.

Oh and this place has a pretty good selection of cds and dvds too. I've been watching too much tv and swapping an absurd amount of music. So I really don't need that kind of media right now.

It's some light pop station. Now there's a commercial for discounted pet prescriptions.

I should probably mention the architecture of this building. Pretty sharp building. It's about 5 stories tall and very open. There's a huge open space running from the front of the building to the back, and lots of natural light shines through. You can enter on Hennepin and exit on Nicollet. It also has plenty of rooms to rent for group meetings. As I write I'm looking out 30 foot tall windows to a brick patio with metal tables and chairs. It's nice. It's hip. Too bad the music sucks. I guess that's what the ipod is for.

Okay...there's another problem I'm having with this place. But maybe it's a good one for the kids. I just tried searching for an image of this lovely library and my search was blocked. I guess image searches are strictly forbidden. I just hope the banning of content doesn't extend to the shelves.

But hey, free wi-fi at a library. Big, comfy chairs. Great coffee. Several bars on the cell phone. Not bad for a virtual office.

And now they're playing "Daydream Believer". Ahhh...I kind oflike this song. Sort of makes me smile.

(wow I can't even use spell check in here. Are they afraid kids are going to look up the definitions of cuss words???)

Let it rain. Let it rain. Let it rain. Seriously, I don't care if it rains like this for seven days straight. It's such a nice change of pace. There's something about endless summer weather that really starts to get to me. Especially when you have to run the air conditioning incessantly and keep the blinds closed to keep the sun from heating the place up. I'll take a good thunderstorm any day.

Then there's the cabin-like feeling of turning on warm lights on a dark day. It makes me want to read a novel or write a song. Maybe start my own book-in-progress. Creativity flows. It's not stagnated by shorts and t-shirts. Wearing long pants seems to do wonders for ideas.

I took an umbrella on my morning appointment today. It's been a long time since I've done that. It was nice. It made me feel important. I'm protecting my head from the skies because, at least today, it is full of ideas. We're operating on all cylinders baby.

shine on you crazy diamond

Roger "Syd" Barrett is dead. Any hopes of the biggest comeback in rock and roll history have now been extinguished. There will be no Pink Floyd reunion or Rolling Stone interview with the famous recluse. All we have is grainy You Tube videos and tributes like Wish You Were Here. Oh, and of course, some amazing recordings of Syd: Pink Floyd's Piper At The Gates Of Dawn and Syd's solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett.


People like to talk about the age of 27. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and then later, Kurt Cobain all died at that age. It's sad that those careers ended so early, but Syd's case is more heartbreaking. Imagine seeing the band that you started turn into one of the most successful bands in rock and roll history while you stay at your mother's flat and lose contact with the world. Too far gone to fit into society. Robyn Hitcock said it better in his song "1974":

Syd Barrett's last session, he can't sing anymore
He's gonna have to be Roger now for the rest of his life

Painting and classical music became his thing. But one of his nieces was interviewed several years back and said that she remembered Syd picking up the guitar occasionally. Maybe the best we can hope for is some basement tapes from the man. Some long lost recordings that verify that maybe he was alright. That he got better and chose to stay away. That maybe he had some choice in the matter.

I wonder what he painted?

Goodbye Syd.

choices in modern life (and a guacamole recipe)

I never know what to say when I'm at a grocery store and they ask if I'd like paper or plastic. Shouldn't we have a clear cut winner by now. Do we really have to make that choice every single time we go to the store?

I make the choice based on two criteria. If the trash is building up under my kitchen sink, I'll go with the paper. If the cat's litter box needs sifting, it's plastic for me.

While I can complain about the grocery stores giving me too many choices, and don't even get me started on toothpastes, it seems like other stores aren't giving us enough options. Drug stores, for example. You buy all kinds of embarrassing thing there, and what do they put your purchase in? A flimsy plastic bag that you see right through.

I was at Walgreens the other day. Even though I had my embarrassables well hidden in the bag, I still couldn't help but notice people trying to see through the plastic when I stopped off at a couple stores on the walk home. I'm asking about a firewire adapter and the guy behind the counter is eyeing my bag. Hey buddy, cut it out. Whatever embarrassables you might see in there would have absolutely nothing to do with you.

Of course some people might find their embarrassables in the produce section of the grocery store. Which would make their choice a little easier.

As for me, well, I didn't need to hide yesterday's grocery store purchase. Lime, avocado, cilantro, garlic, red onion and tomato make a mean guacamole. And it doesn't matter if I take it home in paper or plastic.

Proud Guac (for one really hungry man or two not so hungry...feel free to double)

1 avocado, mashed
1/4 cup red onion chopped
1 roma tomato, cored and chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
cilantro to taste, chopped
squeeze of lime
salt to taste

Think Globaly, Drink Locally?

Al Gore wouldn't like Hennepin Lake Liquors, and I don't like it either. First off, they don't take credit cards. It's 2006, and they act like it's 1969. Checks are okay. Of course. Like I carry those around.

Secondly, they close at 8pm on weekdays. The laws changed recently to allow liquor stores to stay open until 10pm, so why doesn't this liquor store stay open for a couple more hours? You'd think they'd increase their profits. I went to the door yesterday at 8:10, looked inside, and practically got scolded by the cashier for even attempting to try the door.

Which brings me to Al Gore. I'm not going to go on and on about why everyone should see An Inconvenient Truth, but surely people can relate to the absurdity of having to get in your car and burn precious fossil fuels to get a six pack of beer when you live right in the heart of your city. Nightclubs are pumping. 20-something's are everywhere. But I can't take home some beer. It's absurd. It's the equivalent of restaurants closing at 7pm. Sorry folks, you didn't hear the dinner bell at 5:30, I guess you don't get to eat. Or, well I guess you can eat here, but don't even think about taking that food home.

I hate liquor laws to begin with, but this is ridiculous. I've left 6-packs of 3.2 beer at convenience store counters when I suddenly realize where I live and what laws we're dealing with. And it's not like I'm an alcoholic. We're talking one beer, but damn it, I wanted that beer. And I wanted it at home, at full strength, and not sitting in some bar. I can't pet my cat and read a book at a bar. It just doesn't work like that.

Well, goodbye Hennepin Lake. I guess I'll just have to add liquor stores to my big grocery/Target shopping trips. Those days when fossil fuels burn aplenty in the name of focused consumerism, and my patience isn't tested by some backwards liquor store refusing to sell me my Negra Modelo on a hot summer night when man and womankind should be entitled to beer by birth alone. Much less by turning that magical, but otherwise meaningless age of 21.

A special shout out goes to my good friends at Hums. We'll be seeing more of each other. See, they get it. And now they're getting me. And I'm getting my Negra Modelo. With a lime. You can't beat on a hot summer night around 9 o'clock. Trust me, it's worth fighting for.