No foolin'

I am a lover of April Fool's jokes - already got my wife this morning with a small but effective trick (it's an inside joke based on years of marriage, trust me, you had to be there).

I grew up with my mom constantly trying to trick us with some hyperbolic utterance (um... bullshit us, is what I mean).
"Look, there's a flock of geese on the lawn."
"A cow in the backyard!"
"A deer in the driveway!"
As I recall, it seemed to always have a wildlife theme. As a kid I would run to the window, sleepy, and wondering how a cow got in our yard. Even when I didn't believe, I liked the idea of the harmless prank, and would go to the window just to play along. There were those years of teenage-hood, where I just would mutter, "Yeah, right", but that was short lived.

The local radio station got into it, broadcasting fake news stories (a herd of cows on main street - what can I say, cows were a theme where I lived.) Phoning people and telling them to put plastic bags over their phones so they could "clear the lines", or just asking people if there fridges were running. (Well, you better go catch it! No, I didn't live in the Catskills.)

I've tried to carry on the tradition, though my current teenagers are in the "yeah right" phase, and there is nary a cow to be seen. Still, my wife and me have played a few good ones on each other over the years. I love her enough that I would still go to the window and look for livestock.

Anyway, the point of this post is really to draw you to the post below, titled "The End" - if you read woofreakinhoo, please post below and let me know.
For real, no cows involved.

The End?

Remember that Doors song, "This is the End" that played hauntingly in the background of Apocalypse Now?

Well, this is nothing as dramatic as that - just that I am finding myself with little to blog about these days. I could post the odd writing excerpt here and there, but besides getting boring, publishers consider work on a blog as "published" and it hinder my submitting of said work - even if the piece is read by one family member and two accidental surfers. I could post what I am reading or watching or thinking about, and I suppose that might be of some interest (to who?) But in a world of one too many blogs, I wonder if I should shut down woofreakinhoo for a while.
The main reason for this is to streamline my thought process and time into my next novel. I am finding that I only have so much time in a day to devote to writing, and if I am ever going to get this first draft completed, I need to FOCUS.

That being said, if you like reading this blog, please send me a post. This is not a plea for readers, its just that if I felt someone was reading this stuff then I might be spurred on to actually post more often, and carve out a little piece of my day to write something for the blog.

So, do you read woofreakinhoo? Let me know below.

Epic Weekend

Hmmmm...sleepy Monday, that's what they should call the Monday after Easter Sunday. A busy week of services, people, food, and movies.
We have a local film festival that shows "Jesus" movies all week - in fact, we found out this year that it is the largest collection of Jesus films being shown at a festival. No matter your faith background, some of these movies are stellar examples of great film making. It is fascinating to watch the passion being portrayed from so many different angles and from different directors of varied ethnicity.

A highlight was the South African film, The Son of Man - the first independent film out of South Africa to debut at the Sundance festival. It was only the second showing in Canada, a big score for a fairly small festival. A fave for me this year was the quirky Book of Life. I am still trying to unwrap the story of Jesus coming back on the day of Y2K and deciding whether to start the apocalypse by opening the Book Of Life (which happens to be a Mac Laptop - you'd think they would have used a PC!).

But I still remain, since childhood, a lover of the Biblical epic - it doesn't get much better than Ben Hur, especially the early silent picture (1925), which even without words out "wows" the Chuck Heston version. This year the epic for me was Quo Vadis - a dark picture for the 1950's dealing with the Christians being thrown to the lions by a narcissistic and quite insane Nero, played by the incredible Peter Ustinov (an oscar winning performance.)

So I return to my regular week, strong coffee in hand, and see what miracles appear on my computer (mac) screen.

OK then!

I am back! From where? Well, no where actually.

But it is a good day to return to the blog. Why? Well, it's all about the band, the one I am obsessed with, the one that nastily cancelled there last concert in my city due to chicken pox, the one, the only, cue the lighters, WILCO.

Just scored my tickets. Now I wait to see if any foreign viruses, bouts of measles, or other alien airborne bugs spoil my plans.

So why the obsession? I dunno, there is just something about this band, well, notably, Jeff Tweedy. He is a flawed individual, spent some time in re-hab. He seems quite obsessive himself, and has been known to fire the ass of a band member or two. Every concert I have attended has had a different line-up, except for Tweedy and bassist John Stirrat.

So yeah, it's the lyrics, and the music, but something else that I have never been able to put my finger on. It is like other artists that I have admired, following their creative bent without regard to sales and popularity - they make music that they want to make, and there is an evolution in the creation. Tom Waits is another one, and I have followed his career over the years - sadly, only seeing him in concert once. And lately he seems to have disappeared into an experimental stage that is hard to engage. His last three disc album Orphans seemed like a rough cut for an album, way too many tracks, and like Stephen King, in need of a good editor.

I followed Dire Straits for quite a while too - then after Love over Gold, things got murky. I do pay attention to what Mark Knopfler is up to. One of my favorite albums is still Knopfler with Chet Atkins (Neck in Neck). And I have heard amazing things about his latest solo effort. Still, the attraction has waned.

I guess if I tried to explain the Wilco obsession, it would have to do with Tweedy inspiring me as a human being. Sure, that sounds pretentious and more than a bit nutso - but his view on creating art, his drive, perfectionism, and willingness to push it to the edge, all of it suggests to me, that yeah, I could make art too. It is real and it counts. So do it.

Create because you were meant to.

Lyrics to "What Light" from Sky Blue Sky:

If you feel like singing a song
And you want other people to sing along
Just sing what you feel
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong

And if you’re trying to paint a picture
But you’re not sure which colors belong
Just paint what you see
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong

And if you’re strung out like a kite
Or stung awake in the night
It’s alright to be frightened

When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you

If you think you might need somebody
To pick you up when you drag
Don’t loose sight of yourself
Don’t let anyone change your bag

And if the whole world’s singing your songs
And all of your paintings have been hung
Just remember what was yours is everyone’s from now on

And that’s not wrong or right
But you can struggle with it all you like
You'll only get uptight

Because there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
There’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
There’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
There’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you

Friday blues

So busy with too many things these days - my blogging has went down the drain a bit. But there is always hope... hope that next week will bring open days where I can return to my novel.
An excerpt for your reading pleasure (hopefully) and more importantly, to inspire me, or kick me in the ass at least.

Fall in One Day

My name is Joseph Beck, but only my mom calls me Joseph, most people call me Joe, my best friend Brian calls me J, and my brother calls me Joze, he has since I was a little kid. Karl is twenty, eight years older than me, and is he an influence? I guess, yeah, but not that I want to be like him.

I say this in my interview voice, out loud, laying on my bed. I have this feeling some day I'll be interviewed, and I'll have to give this speil, like on a radio show, or maybe even TV. Hopefully, not in a court in front of a judge, but who knows. Somebody will say, "Joseph Beck, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God."

"I don't really go to church."

I'd say. But probably not, I wouldn't have the balls to say that. Then again, if I am court I probably committed a crime, so maybe I would say that.

"But you do believe in God, don't you Joseph?"
"Call me Joe."
"Joe, what about God?"
"Can I get back to you on that?"

Yeah right, I'd be funny like that - witty on the witness stand. More likely I'd be pissing in my jeans.