drunk workout

Alison went to see a movie with her girlfriends tonight. Sadie was already asleep, I read Ella a few stories and came out to the living room. I laid down on the couch for a minute and closed my eyes. I opened them an hour and a half later. Now it's 1 am, I'm listening to Van Morrison and answering old e-mail. Ah, you've got to love it...

I spent a few hours today writing, but not writing songs or blogs. It may just be an exercise but I'm having fun. If I ever finish something I like I'll let you know.

Van Morrison is one of my favorites, has been since high school. However, he must have been incredibly drunk when he recorded the album Saint Dominic's Preview. There is a 12 minute song where the band jams and he quite literally sounds like he's doing pushups and grunting into the microphone. His phrasing and rhythm is stunning, though, even in the drunk workout stuff.

Alison and I started watching some Arrested Development again a few nights ago. Tears of laughter. A bit of dialogue that I never caught before that almost sent me to the hospital because I couldn't breathe the other night:

"That must have been Dad. He's always trying to pit us against each other."

"Dad always said that was your fault."

Ok, it's obvious that I shouldn't be writing anymore tonight. I can't stop a song in the middle, so once this Van tune is done I'll be going to bed. Ciao.

some research

Question: If you could have any sort of magical ability or super power, but just one thing, what would it be?

Also, click here for a very long, but interesting, read. I'd love to know any thoughts or other perspectives on this.

The After-Vacation Vacation

Well, it's been four whole days since I've written last. An eternity for me. Alison, the girls and I spent the weekend at a state park in Kentucky with my parents and my brother and his wife. It was a good time to be with them, though not exactly restful with our daughters' crazy sleeping habits (or lack thereof...).

I took today off as well to catch up on some stuff around here and just hang out with the girls. Ella and I had a great time at the zoo. We fed birds.

So I've been terribly neglectful in not making a bigger notice of a new website set up in my own honor. Andrewosenga.net, run by Chris Hubbs and Tony Kevin (as far as I can tell) has been going for a few months now. They've posted some really kind and generous reviews of the songs on the EP as well as other various tidbits and photos.

I did a short audio interview about the EP with Chris last week and it is now up on the site for you to hear. CLICK HERE to give it a listen. I have to say, I really like the pictures they chose to put at the top of the site. They make me feel cooler than I know I am.

Well, that's about it for me tonight. I'm taking the bulk of the week to meet with a few folks and try to figure out some more of this stuff. Too many ideas, maybe enough time, definitely not enough money. We'll see what happens. Thank you, all of you, for keeping me going, excited and willing to dream up greater possibilities.

Believe it or not, this site is actually about music.

All day Friday my song "After the Garden" off of The Morning will be available for free download on the site MyFreeMusicFriday.com. Click the green banner below to take you there, but be aware, it's only on Friday.



And speaking of music that's cheap and available very soon, Caedmon's Call's new album Overdressed is now available for pre-sale on caedmonscall.com.

If you pre-order the record you'll get the bonus edition which features two additional songs. I'm not going to lie to you, they're two of the best ones, I think. Derek and I sing them and I want you guys to hear them.

Also, for a limited time on the Caedmon's site, the cd's are going 2 for $12. It's like an annoying-car-dealer-commercial kind of great deal.

Click THE COVER to pre-order.

That's SIR Scary Spice to you...

As if the breakup of the Spice Girls wasn't enough, England just keeps ruining the world for the rest of us. Their latest outrage? They have bestowed upon Mr. Salman Rushdie the hono(u)r of knighthood.

Now this has got the Muslim extremists all riled up.



Mr. Rushdie, sorry, Sir Rushdie wrote a book twenty years or so ago called The Satanic Verses. In it a prophet, based on Muhammed, is led astray by Satan. Also, two people fall out of an airplane and one sprouts horns and the other gets a halo. The guy with horns gets very bad breath and the guy with the halo becomes a movie star. I know. I've read it twice.

It's a great book, actually. At least I think it is. I was intrigued enough to read it again. But the truth is, I didn't understand it. I asked my Indian friends, a few of them are brilliant and love literature, and they couldn't explain it to me. They told me why Islamic fundamentalists hated it, though. It allegedly disgraced the prophet.

After the book initially came out a Fatwa was called upon Sir Rushdie. The writing of his book was worthy of the death sentence. It seems time healed a few wounds, though, and nobody killed him and he started popping up at U2 shows, Live8 concerts and in Bridget Jones' movies. Now that he's a knight the controversy is stirred again.

It all reminds me of Christians and Harry Potter (or Bart Simpson or Walt Disney) or any of the other things my faith has allegedly condemned. I seem to remember most of the people who hated Harry had never read him. Of course they hadn't. Everybody likes Harry once you've read him. The books are amazing. And they tell truth. They're more Gospel than Left Behind, but that's another post.

The point is: People tend to follow the loudest voice and often that voice is the loudmouth who takes things too far. That's how he gets attention.

And just like Harry, I wonder how many of the people crying for Rushdie to die have read the book. And if they read it, I wonder how many of them understand it? (If they do, can they explain it to me? Especially the butterfly girl part?)

And so I feel bad for most Islamic/Muslim people today. They're getting the bad rap I feel I usually get. The media uses the word "extremists", which implies Osama Bin Laden and Pat Robertson, but the word in front of it, whether Christian or Islamic, bares the brunt of it.

Sir Rushdie, I think you write good books. I LOVED Midnight Children and East, West. I hope they don't kill you and I hope you can help be a part of bringing about peace. I know you think it's possible. That's the one thing I understood from your book.