http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html Stephen Lee Rich: Bagging the Blog Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:12:21 -0800 http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/making_changes
Back at the end of the 1980’s and into the beginning of the 1990’s there was a fellow named Tom Peters who was making quite a splash in business news circles.
He was also catching on with much of the general public with a delightfully radical idea. He thought that, for any business to stay healthy and profitable on a long-term basis, it needed to reinvent itself every three years or so. For me it the idea came as vindication of a sort. I had, from a creative standpoint, been doing that since I started my career as an entertainer in 1970.

What you are seeing or hearing on this website is my long overdue self reinvention. The stage persona has changed. The style and substance of the comedy has changed. Much of the music is being changed. That is not to say that I’m ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater. There are things that ain’t broke so I ain’t gonna fix ”˜em. I am not, for example, about to stop yodeling. It’s too much fun. But, I’ve been cruising along on that cowboy stage character for more than a decade. He’s a good character and I like working in him . But, he’s no longer enough to handle what I need to be doing as a singer, songwriter and satirist in these early years of the 21st century. Some radical changes have to happen.

Other than that I won’t bore you with all of the dopey details of what I need to change and why. I’m only bring it up as ajumping off point to pass along what I think that I have learned from my various reinventions. Note that I am not claiming to be particularly wise or to be telling you anything that you don’t already know. I may have an experience a couple of weeks from now that will prove that everything that I think I know is completely wrong. That’s part of the nature of change and growth. So feel free to take the following with a grain or so of salt.

Renewal

A friend of mine once told me that every once in a while you have to unscrew your head from your shoulders, put it on a table in front of you, and talk to it. It’s a colorful variation on one of the oldest pieces of good advice on the planet. ”Know Thyself.” This is particularly important for artists of any kind. A good deal of your core identity is going into your chosen medium. Thus, the best way to get control of your art is to have a good handle on what’s going out there. Even if you’re not an artist it is still important to know who you are inside. Some go therapists to find this stuff out. Some people go to support groups. Some people join a religion. We each have our own way. Unfortunately, a lot of us don’t feel that we have the kind of time needed to achieve any demonstrable level of self knowledge. That’s not always true, though. There are a lot of points in our lives when we are not actually doing anything except to wait; on the bus or train commuting to and from work, in a doctor’s waiting room, in line at the supermarket, or in line anywhere for that matter. You can’t honestly say that you’re doing anything especially useful at moments like that. Use that time to ask yourself some of the following questions.

1) What makes you laugh?
2) Why?
3) What makes you angry?
4) Why?

Obviously, questions about all of the emotions between those two points
will occur to you while you’re thinking. As you start to cross-reference the various questions the answers may start to surprise you. You will like some of them and want to hide from others. But, it’s important that you know both. The tricky part, of course, is in answering the question honestly. The most universal and widely practiced art form in the world is that of self deception. I say this knowing that I’m as guilty as anyone (maybe more than some). Sometimes what you need is a way to jumpstart a different point of view.

This is going to sound wildly absurd, but stay with me for a couple of minutes. I’ve found this to be a darned useful technique for changing my view of things. Early in the morning, when you are standing in front of your mirror to shave or put on makeup (or both), spend three minutes mugging. Spend three minutes making strange, goofy, or weird faces at yourself. Spend three minute being five years old.

You may be thinking, “That’s really stupid! I can’t do that!”

Yes, it is and yes, you can. It’s a bit startling what doing something that childish and ridiculous can achieve. For a start, it forces you, quite literally, to see yourself differently than you normally do. That’s never a bad thing. Beyond that it will carry you into your day with a slightly different and, possibly, more positive attitude. The knowledge that you have spent three minute of your day doing something shamelessly silly will make it very nearly impossible to take yourself too seriously. With that barrier removed it will be a lot easier to prioritize the degrees to which you need to take the rest of the world seriously. With that barrier removed it will diminish the degree of self deception in play when answering the previously discussed questions.

Try it. If nothing else it’s a heck of a lot of fun.]]> http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/making_changes Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:12:21 -0800 Your friendly, neighborhood, yodeling cowboy - Stephen Lee Rich - Bagging the Blog http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/what_happened_in_maine Republican controlled state legislatures all over the country have been passing “anti-vote fraud” bills the only intent of which is to undermine the voting power of those who would oppose them. Right problem. Wrong solution. It should come as no surprise to anyone that in many states Republicans are under investigation or are being prosecuted for (drum roll, please) VOTE FRAUD, and other forms of election chicanery. After all, those restrictive voting laws can only disenfranchise finite number of people. They need an extra, little push. Thus, it should be even less surprising that the GOP has finally turned on its own.
It happened in a place not that far away; in a land not of sight and sound, but of mindlessness; a shadow land of things from ideologues. Signpost on the left: you have entered (long, dramatic pause) the Maine Caucuses!
The GOP in Maine has rigged up a way to double-cross their own voters. Washington County had heavy snows on the day they were scheduled to vote. They postponed the voting until February 18th (this coming Saturday). State GOP officials told them not to worry that their votes would be counted anyway. Somewhere between then and now things changed just a wee bit. Earlier this week Republican officials in the state announced that America’s favorite spoiled rich kid, Mitt Romney had won the Maine Caucuses.

Washington County Republicans exclaimed, “Wait a minute! What about us? What about our votes?”
“Sorry,” said the state GOP condescendingly, “too late!”

Meanwhile, in the town of Belfast in Waldo County a top official tried to call in the numbers from their vote. The conversation went something like this.

State GOP: (smugly) We already have those numbers.
Belfast GOP: (with the general level of incredulity that one ordinarily would reserve for that moment when one sees a rhinoceros flying over a carwash) What? Wait a minute! That’s impossible! I’m just calling in the numbers now!
State GOP: (even more smugly) We have the numbers right here and Mitt Romney won in Belfast.
Belfast GOP: (through clenched teeth) NO! I have the numbers right here and Mitt Romney DID NOT win in Belfast!
State GOP: (to get exactly the right tone for the following bit of dialogue try to imagine a cartoon rabbit in drag talking to a very befuddled hunter) Reeeeeeeeealy?

The officials in Belfast complained to the State Republican leadership and were assured that the numbers would be adjusted. The official “adjustment” showed that nobody in Belfast had voted for anybody. According to the Maine GOP there were no votes cast in Belfast. This was also the official result for seventeen out of the eighteen caucuses held in Waldo County. Nobody voted for anybody. No votes were cast. This was also the result for Republicans in the town of Waterville in Kennebec County.
Needless to say the voters in those locations are madder than a New York theater critic who found himself seated in the second balcony. They want their votes counted. The Maine GOP leadership has vowed to review the numbers, but not until after Super Tuesday when it will, of course, be irrelevant.
Whether these things happened by intent or ineptitude it would seem that the GOP has been so far removed from any known form of reality for so long that they can’t seem to get their minds around the simplest and most fundamental rule of common sense which is, “Don’t poop where you eat!”
The Republican Party in Maine may wind up having some trouble rallying support for anyone come November. It may help to make re-electing the President a touch easier. In the overview Maine would merely seem to be one of the more absurd manifestations of the GOP’s insanity.
That having been said, we still have a lot of work to do. Keep at it. Remember what we have proven and will continue to prove, here, in Wisconsin. Boots on the ground are stronger than any rich man’s war chest!]]> http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/what_happened_in_maine Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:26:27 -0800 Your friendly, neighborhood, yodeling cowboy - Stephen Lee Rich - Bagging the Blog http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/frog_fight
No frogs were waiting on the front porch to greet Winthrop when he got home from school on Tuesday. The frogs had been there to greet him every day for as long as he could remember (given that he was only seven years old, however, that wasn’t a heck of a long time). Though he called and croaked for hours, no frogs came . Winthrop was very disappointed.

Where were they? Why had they stayed away? Had he offended them?
If so, how? He hadn’t called them any unpleasant names. He wasn’t even sure that there was any sort of unpleasant name which one could call them.
They were, after all frogs.

There had to be a way to get them back! Winthrop thought and thought. Myabe if he put out some food he could lure them back. Even frogs liked a nice gnosh now and then. But, he had no idea what kind of bugs frogs ate or how to catch them had he known.
Wait a minute! Everybody said that Uncle Marvin was a little buggy. He could lash Uncle Marvin to the porch swing! That would help him to coax the frogs back!

So, he went to talk to his uncle. Uncle Marvin said that he would do it. Everybody was right. Uncle Marvin was a little buggy (maybe a lot). Winthrop jumped for joy (but, only after he had scared up enough duct tape to lash his uncle to the porch swing).

It worked! As soon as Winthrop had secured the last strip of tape to the swing, the frogs slowly began to return. Winthrop was ecstatic. The frogs were ecstatic. Uncle Marvin was very uncomfortable.

None the less, they all lived happily ever after (except for Uncle Marvin, who died of warts).


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Facing Monday is still available.

]]> http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/frog_fight Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:23:38 -0800 Your friendly, neighborhood, yodeling cowboy - Stephen Lee Rich - Bagging the Blog http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/random_thoughts What is frightening isn’t the selling price or even the fact that someone would shell out good money for such a product. What is frightening is that a grown person actually got paid to think of it in the first place.
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Thoughts on Theodore Roosevelt
In school we were taught about Theodore R.
He kept the world hopping both here and afar.
A friend of mine read of his vigor and vim and said,
“When I grow up I want to be him!”
That bounced around gibbon-like inside my head,
So I asked my friend, “You want to be dead?”

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The Super Bowl was actually an interesting, and fun game to watch this year! I suppose that’s why I’ve found the phrase “freezing over” springing to mind.

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Now In Theaters: The new animated, fantasy adventure, The Dragon With The Girl Tatoo.

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What’s the difference between the Zombie Apocalypse and the current slate of Republican presidential candidates?
The zombies WANT brains.

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Be well. Dream on!
Steve]]> http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/random_thoughts Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:53:23 -0800 Your friendly, neighborhood, yodeling cowboy - Stephen Lee Rich - Bagging the Blog http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/security My immediate answer was to tell Randall that, while many people may define security in financial terms, I took security from the knowledge that I was able to make music and would probably be able to do so for quite some time to come. Security is hearing that first laugh from an audience. It tells me that I’m doing my job right.
Subsequent posts discussed everything from jokes about weapons to one of the better Peter Gabriel albums. Shock the monkey, indeed. There were a few which stood out as interesting thoughts.
For example, Kate Robertson said,”knowing that there is a Love-inspired imperative operating in each of us...individually and collectively...urging us towards our best selves..an irresistible desire to live with, and for, others, to give generously, to share our lives and talents with one another, build family and community, and to trust and be trusted. this is the ‘space’ that feels most secure for me.”
Needless to say, that made me feel just a bit self-serving after what I had posted on the subject. It does, however, raise an interesting issue about what the word “security” might mean to in a larger context.

Is it a question of values?

I was raised to believe that if you see something wrong and are in a position to set it right, it is your responsibility to do so. This was reenforced by my childhood heroes; the cowboys of television and movies. There was always the underlying theme, in these productions, that we live as part of a community, have a duty to serve said community, and, in so doing, serve ourselves. This simple idea is part of the foundation of every religion in the world. I have heard it argued that the effort to spread this concept is one of the primary reasons for such a thing as religion to exist.
Thought he principle is simple, it’s enactment takes a bit of doing. It requires an act of will. It requires effort. Without these the principle is meaningless. Without these the principle has no reality.
We currently live in a world in which words like “security” seem to have little meaning or reality. I will leave it to the social scientists, theologians, and historians to determine and explain why we have come to this point. Suffice to say that we live in a world which frequently seems, to many, overwhelmingly frightening. That can be changed. Each of us can be one of the agents of that change.

One is reminded of a song written by Mason Williams (he of “Classical Gas” fame), called “Godsend”.
“I can tell there has been a cave-in
By the look in your eyes.
You’re trapped down deep in the mines,
Half buried in lies.
I’ll try to reach you if I can.
I just hope it’s in time.
Start working this way from your end,
And I’ll start from mine.”

Making the effort to act in one’s community is not, necessarily, a political act (although, obviously, it can be). More often than not, it’s the smaller, more mundane things which have the largest impact. Do you know someone who is going through a tough time and just needs an ear to bend? Make yours bendable. Are you about to cross the street, a bus is coming up to the corner, and you see someone running like blazes to catch it, but they might not make it? Flag down the bus for them. So, you missed your light. There will be another “walk” light long before the next bus shows up. Treat everyone you meet with respect and grace. Learn (if you haven’t already) to disagree without becoming disagreeable. In short, do anything and everything you can to help make the lives of the people around you, at the very least, less miserable.
I’ve no doubt that you are already thinking about a couple of dozen other little-bitty things that you could do to help out in your corner of the universe. These things don’t sound very important, but the long range effect can be profound. The concept of the “ripple effect” of these sorts of actions is a cliche’ because it keeps being true. It’s repercussions can be staggering.
Mind you, I’m not saying that we should ignore the big issues. We still need to clean up the environment, shield ourselves against greed and stupidity in the banking system, keep the health-care bill from death by amendment, etc. All of these things need to be done. But, in order to make the world better we need to work as hard, maybe harder, at improving the micro-verse as the macro-verse. We need to work on our lives and our society at the molecular level.
Think of it this way. Is there not a certain comfort factor, for all concerned, in being kind and courteous? Is there not a certain security in knowing, at the end of the day, that you have done your best to do the right thing? Does it not help to create what Ms. Robertson called “an irresistible desire to live with, and for, others” ?
Does it not make it easier for you to start working this way from your end while I start from mine?]]> http://stephenleerich.com/blog.html/security Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:39:20 -0700 Your friendly, neighborhood, yodeling cowboy - Stephen Lee Rich - Bagging the Blog