Oy Vey — To Bris or Not To Bris

Author’s note:   As Jack Friday would say, “The names of the participants in this have been changed to protect the innocent.”  That and so hopefully they will not beat the H-E-double hockey sticks out of me.

Last November my girlfriend, Gaia, and myself went to see the wonderful musician, Ellis Paul.  We invited Apollo to come with us even though the music was not his beloved opera.  Gaia and Apollo have been close friends for many, many years.   While I have not known Apollo as long, I consider him a friend also.  Apollo is perhaps 10 or 12 years older than Gaia and I.  He is retired from a technical position with the US government.  He is a very bright, a very Italian, gay gentleman.  He is a kind, genuine individual.  It is always interesting and entertaining to be around him.  He is one of those individuals that seem to live life to its fullest, and he does so with great joy.

After a wonderful evening of  music with Ellis Paul, Gaia and I took Apollo back to his abode.  He invited us in for some cheese and wine before we ventured back to the wilds of Chesterfield.  We visited for a while enjoying good wine and some cheese that Apollo had crafted himself.  I went to the bathroom and when I returned the conversation had turned to circumcision!  Apollo could not understand why it is so widely practiced in a non-Jewish nation such as the United States.    Continue reading “Oy Vey — To Bris or Not To Bris”

The World/Life/Etc. Explained

We live in a ass-backwards world.

We are the mirror image of a good universe.

  • Evil seems to be rewarded beyond measure and no good deed goes unpunished
  • A few very rich or powerful folks get to make the rules and dictate how most folks live
  • Education is not about learning, but learning how to make money
  • We worry about the afterlife, more than we worry about the here and now
  • Brittany Spears is famous and Ellis Paul languishes in relative obscurity
  • War and violence are touted as manly pursuits and arts and humanities are for wimps
  • Poverty is considered a moral failure of the individual and not a moral failure of the system
  • A person’s skin color determines his opportunities not what is inside the person
  • Business has a separate set of morals that if  an individual acted on that set they would imprisoned

I’m going to go on, but later when I have more inspiration.  In the mean time I am waiting for Capt. Picard to send the Enterprise around the sun 10 times at Warp 9 and see if it will reverse the converse.


Ellis Paul

I do not know why I even bother to think or talk about “it” anymore.  The”it” being why folks like Ellis Paul never really make it big main stream, but someone like Brittany Spears is a “super” star.  Ellis Paul is certainly very well know in folk and singer/songwriter circles, but you say his name beyond that audience and you get a blank stare.

Robin and I went to see him the other night at a small venue in St. Louis, Off Broadway. Check it out, they get a lot of fairly well know acts through their doors. They have a bar, but the chairs are arranged facing the stage without tables.  It makes for an intimate listening experience.  This is especially true with folk singers and singer/songwriter types.

Anyway we took an Italian friend who listens almost exclusive to opera.  He was very impressed by Ellis Paul’s talent and vocal range.  As always his lyrics just blow you away if you listen at all. Continue reading “Ellis Paul”