health care & the man in black

well, since i was remiss in blogging yesterday, here's a recap of yesterday's cause, amongst our nation's lawmakers anyway...the health care debate.

and today, fans of Johnny Cash are being urged to wear black in honor of what would have been his 78th birthday today. there's a great new album out, American VI: Ain't No Grave, that is heart-wrenchingly beautiful to listen to, esp. in light of all the health care issues being bandied about.

have a great weekend!

jeff (and spock)

give blood!

As part of their Drive for Life week-long event, Volvo of Charlottesville is hosting Virginia Blood Services today from 2:30pm-5pm for a blood drive. Virginia Blood Services is well under their blood donation goal for February due to our on-going snowy weather. They are up to 1000 units down and need everyone’s help.

All their blood stays here to help people in our local community and your one pint could save up to 3 lives!

Thanks!

And musically speaking, in case you missed St. Vincent last night at The Jefferson, here she is covering The Beatles. She recalled playing to a crowd of about 6 (half of which were employees) at the Tea Bazaar the last time she played here a few years ago. There were considerably more people there last night, with great sound and lighting that definitely enhanced the show. You can tell she puts a lot of thought and creativity into the whole experience for her fans.

another day, another cause

I hope my "cause of the day" doesn't imply that caring about said cause should only last for one day, but rather that there is a TON of great work being done here in our community, and worldwide for that matter, in pursuit of productive ideas, rather than those confounding and/or frustrating ones that seem to be in the news all the time. I know a lot of people (including me) seem to be frustrated these days, whether it's with politics, the economy, or even how to relate to each other in this digital age. And of course, frustration is not unique to this decade. For some the frustration goes back multiple decades, for others centuries. I always try to keep things in perspective, which hopefully prevents getting too emotionally high or too low. But I hate the part of "perspective" that discourages action because you see what a long, hard road understanding and/or justice can truly be. The curse of being a history major, perhaps? But I figure there's already enough negativity out there (for which this here blogosphere certainly serves a semi-useful purpose), so why not try to add something to the positive side of the equation? Maybe one day the positivity will outweigh the negativity...cue the Matisyahu "One Day" chorus :) I'll admit to a love/hate relationship with the blogosphere in general...it's so easy (and sometimes theraputic) to be snarky...perhaps that's just human nature (or just me) to veer towards the negative and/or easy solution. So with that in mind, bear with me while I try to stay positive.

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a great time judging the Charlottesville's Got Talent contest (which was a benefit for Charlottesville Health Access) at The Haven this past Saturday. It was a great turnout, and among me and the other 2 judges at the table, we gave singer/songwriter Gina Sobel the highest score. The salsa dancing team of Angela Oh Park and the Rodrigo Y Gabriela-like guitar wizardry of Wade Glazer tied for a close 2nd, and kudos to Matt Knisley for nailing every lyric of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" without a stumble! Breeze Keys did a great job covering Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly," and NBC 29's own Kasey Hott not only was reporting on the event, but did an impressive job on the classic "At Last." I hope they post the story on their website at some point, since I missed it on TV later that night! And bonus points go to Point Judith for giving a shout out to The Corner at the end of their unique rendition of Tim Armstrong's "Into Action." Oh, and if there had been a "biggest cheer of the night" award, that would've gone to Helen Sneed, who proved with her comedy routine that laughter is timeless, and a sense of humor is important at any age. I was glad to be a part of such a great event for a great cause! Thanks to all the performers and all those behind the scenes that put so much work into the event...

More causes, musical and otherwise, tomorrow! Cheers!

new year, more blogging!

So I'm gonna try to keep this thing more up-to-date and actually join the 21st century, now that we're 10 years in. Better late than never...?

I was thinking I could start a Cause of the Day feature that might have you checking back more frequently than you would otherwise to hear my long-winded ramblings.

First off, I had the pleasure of being a celebrity judge for the Charlottesville's Got Talent event Saturday that was a benefit for The Haven at 1st & Market in Charlottesville. So many talented acts! It was a lot of fun, and I'll have more on that tomorrow.

As for today's cause...a certain beverage company is doing what I think is a pretty cool contest right now and I came across this group that seems to be as good a candidate as any for the substantial prize money at stake. Check 'em out.

Musically speaking, I think I'll make this a bonus Cause of the Day entry since it's been so long since I posted last. There's a song I can't get out my head lately and the band was recently on Letterman to perform a "broadcast TV network" friendly version of "Little Lion Man." Here's Mumford & Sons.
Once upon a time, they asked bands on Ed Sullivan's stage like The Doors and The Stones to edit out words like "higher" and "let's spend the night together." Now it's, "boys, can you change that f-bomb you repeat like 20 times in the chorus to 'messed up,' please?" We'll be playing the radio edit version as our New Song of the Day to start the Workday Wrap Up at 6pm tonight, and I have a feeling you'll hear it on Brighten the Corners tomorrow too.

And in honor of one of my all-time favorite sports heroes Julius "Dr. J" Erving's 60th birthday today, check out this video and photo tribute....

cheers!