E. Michael Harrington

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IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY TODAY and I am in my usual state - female-less, very busy, about to travel somewhere and very happy in most ways. [I've gone back (March 4, 2007) and done historic revisionism - like Fox News/Noise and its DC Office does - and eliminated the few words that followed.]

My other thoughts on Valentine's Day is that this is a dreadful day concocted and pushed (like bad drugs on the street) on a strangely accepting public. Like bad drugs bought and consumed on the street, this day is bad for you and eventually the harm might be noticed.

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I am behind on some workplace issues and need to get back to them. I wondered what I wrote last year on V-Day. I checked it out and this chunk reflects my present-moment thoughts (and pity for my heterosexual male friends who are only moments away from not pleasing their loved/liked ones). May God bless them and may everyone everywhere be happy today. (This is such dripping kind of writing - I should be ashamed but instead I post it/shove it up many of those Tubes that lead into The Internets for the happy and sad to ponder.

These were a few of my thoughts on V-Day 2006. I agree wholeheartedly with them again.........

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On Valentine's Day, every male becomes a janitor. I was a janitor. It is a very rewarding job because, unlike most of my present day life, there is a specific do-able, finish-able finite job to do. It can get done. Like any job, one takes pride and satisfaction and there are many skill levels.

BUT, here's where V-Day for a male is being a janitor.

WHEN YOU DO A GOOD JOB AS A JANITOR, NO ONE NOTICES. The building looks good because it's supposed to look good. Janitors rarely get thanked or acknowledged for doing a good job. He's supposed to do a good job.

ON V-DAY, if the guy does well or extraordinarily well, it's no big deal as he is supposed to do well. If the guy is anything less than very good, great, or excellent, then he gets noticed.

I survived this Valentine's Day very well and even got very nice cards, emails and items from friends, and especially married friends (they're great because there is no drama or uncertainty as to our relationship - we are friends and she might as well be male. We are safe together.)

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Here's to happy times tonight. I wish my friends and strangers all happiness.

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But to really end this e-diarization in a funny way, I'll quote the great Ambrose Bierce.

LITIGATION: Litigation: A machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage.

LOVE: Love: A temporary insanity curable by marriage.

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ONE MORE THING - Valentine's Day 2006 marked the awarding of the 7,000,000th U. S. patent. John O'Brien was the inventor and not surprisingly he had to assign it to DuPont. What did John invent? This:

Polysaccharide fibers

This invention pertains to novel fibers made of .alpha.(1.fwdarw.;3) polysaccharides, and a process for their production. The fibers of the invention have "cotton-like" properties but can be produced as continuous filaments on a year-round basis. The fibers are useful in textile applications.

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WHY CAN'T I WATCH THE GRAMMYS? I should like them or be able to tolerate them but as hip as they might be, and as important as they are to many in my field, I think they are foolish. My idol - I've had many but this was a passionate and influential one - Charles Ives (if you know the Grammys well, you probably have no idea who Charles Ives is!) once said that "prizes are the badges of mediocrity."

The Grammys started out great! The reunion of The Police... They were good. They did one of their famous old songs, Roxanne. It's always refreshing to sing about wholesome women and prostitutes are very wholesome - they work for money and often smile while working. They seem to make people feel good. And the song, Roxanne, makes many people feel good and feel as if they have had very good art shoved down their ears (and they have).

So, The Police were great. Soon came the even better, and not oldies act, The Dixie Chicks. (I am proud to have been their expert witness.) Natalie uttered those 12 or so words while they were in England. She said that she was ashamed that George Walker Bush, the country's worst President, was from Texas. People in Englad were happy or at least receiving of this remark. Back in my temporarily delusional country, many took to Hitlerian ways - burn their art and threaten to kill them.

I think that someone from Arkansas should be allowed to state that they are ashamed that BILL CLINTON is from Arkansas, or that someone from MASSACHUSETTS should be able to state that they are ashamed that Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, or that someone from Kansas is ashamed that Bob Dole did commercials for erectile dysfunction. On and on. We U. S.'ers should be able to express opinions, especially those that criticize our servants, the politicians, the class that lives to enrich themselves by "public service."

And the Dixie Chicks sang well. They seemed as passionate as ever and as don't-give-a-damn as ever. YEA.

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One of life's strangest juxtapositions, at the Grammys or anywhere - Ornette Coleman and Carrie Underwood, God's favorite. I was amazed that Ornette would be honored as so few Grammy-goers would be able to know who he is or hum one of his melodies.

A medley of Eagles songs.... too bad.

James Blunt - way too bad. The voice that Satan has given to the world.

But Intervention has been on, as has MASH and Andy Griffith, and there was food shopping to do. Tomorrow morning marks my first experience with the first and only teapot I ever bought - a very very bright bright yellow yellow thing that will whistle and make the water boil for my Cornflower Blue French press. Yellow yellow meet blue blue.

And then the BIG ONE comes a few hours after that - my large new 14 inch wok. Wok me baby, wok me all night long. I'll be stir frying up a storm. Yellow Blue and 14 inches of hot surface.

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The Dixie Chicks just won Record of The Year. I'll pay attention to that. Thank God it was not James Blunt.

And they won more as did the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I look forward to hearing the angry masses bitch soon about the Dixie Chicks. Anger is in the air in middle Tennessee and throughout Dixie. Yet, the Chicks had the last laugh. Freedom of speech and a quiet majority of voters usurped the rednecks. What nice revenge - even with Clear Channel ignoring them and rednecks attacking them.... Funny times....

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A YEAR AGO TODAY, Dick Cheney went hunting with Harry. During the day, after a beer or four, he decided it would be more fun to hunt Harry. Dick's aim was good and he got Harry. Dick likes guns and Dick likes hunting even if he has to hunt tall lawyers and small birds. Harry Whittington is a tall lawyer and a quail is a small bird. I'm sorry we haven't had more Cheney's Got A Gun stories in the past 365 days. Lawyers and small birds are safer in 2007. But despite Cheney's claims, Iraq is not safer, we have not had significant successes there (we already lost and need to apologize and get out), and the insurgency is not in its last throes.

Happy Anniversary, Dick Cheney. I'll always commemorate February 11. I'm glad you didn't shoot Harry Whittington on Lincoln's Birthday as that great day need not be marred by your masculinity.

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One more DICK CHENEY thing - Dick Cheney as edited by David Letterman.

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And one more DICK CHENEY thing - Cheney in Easter.

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NOW for some music I loved, sang and played in my past... TOM RUSH. Tom Rush is a New England treasure who promoted and recorded and thereby introduced many great songwriters to our corner of the country. He had a strong influence on many artists in New England and elsewhere. "Driving Wheel" is a great song. Unlike this video, however, it is the first song on side one of the Columbia LP, "Tom Rush," not the last thing on the side. And Columbia albums were red, not orange. How strange but at least the strange video has good scratchy vinyl reproducing the right song.

That just helped me get over the Dick Cheney annversary and move on, moveon.org.

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Nashville is sunny today and Radnor Lake and a lot of podcasts await. Tonight - The Police reunion on one of those stupid awards shows called, The Grammys. Last Sunday, Prince was the best thing on TV. Tonight it could be The Police, especially in this pre-Sopranos final season and pre-Red Sox spring training period (only four days and eighteen hours to go!). Or maybe I'll find more YouTube videos of fake records spinning.

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I HAD A WONDERFUL Kentucky "No-Rain-But-Cold" Tour last week as I spent some great time with great faculty and students at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, KY. However, I talked too much, got kind of sick - sore throat, sneezing, exhaustion, and more - played a lot of great music, got great questions and comments and got to spend good time with new and old friends.

I also got to speak at the 2007 Kentucky Music Educators Association conference in Louisville. I even got a large framed award from them for my presentation. That was very nice as I usually only get awards when I leave a room, or get imprisoned. ("Imprisoned" - that will make for a lovely search term along with my name, won't it? I don't think I've used that word in any of my e-diarizations.)

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What am I happy for today?

Bravo - because they are showing Six Feet Under episodes.

My Planetary Design French press Cornflower Blue mug.

Good health

No explosions and no religious terrorists on my street (I finally have written something positive about my street - it's not like Baghdad - I suppose that's because there has been no "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" here)

I had an excellent day at Leadership Music yesterday. It was Record Label Day. As usual we learned a lot, had excellent conversations and time together. I think I expressed even more than usual.

I have iPods.

I do not have a Zune.

I do not work for Microsoft.

I am not a member of the Communist Party.

I do not live in China.

I hope that if I go to China I will not be arrested.

Barack Obama is announcing his candidacy for President. It's time to stop watching Six Feet Under and watch Obama. I think he'd make a great president. For the third time in my life, I think we have the worst possible President, that this is the bottom of the barrel and that it could not get worse. But with George Walker Bush, I might finally be right.

Barack Obama just ended and in kicked the music - superb choice - Jackie WIlson's "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher"

Your love, lifting me higher
Than I've ever been lifted before
So keep it up
quench my desire
And I'll be at your side, forever more...

Funny, confident, audacious (like his book title).....

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I will be speaking on an AFM panel at the Millennium Music Conference later this week. I've heard a lot of great about this conference but have never attended it.

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Spinal Tap Question - a very difficult one:

What is the name of the restauarant where David and Nigel are being interviewed and Nigel saves his gum for later use by placing it on the tip of his index finger, so he won't forget to chew it after his meal?

BONUS to this difficult question:

What is my relationship or connection to this restaurant?

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