Today is Mardi Gras—Fat Tuesday—the day of feasting before Lent begins in the the Western Church. For a Byzantine Catholic, whose Lenten fast began Sunday evening with Forgiveness Vespers, Mardi Gras presents a particular temptation. But not what you might think.
It is not that one is tempted by the indulgence of Mardi Gras going on in the rest of the culture, even among those who do not know that Fat Tuesday is followed Ash Wednesday.
In fact, it is the opposite temptation: the temptation to be like the Pharisee who, in the Byzantine Rite we recalled three weeks ago on the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, one of the Weeks of Preparation in advance of the Great Fast: “God, I thank thee that I am not like other men . . . [Continue reading this entry »]
This is my cover of a new, untitled, unreleased song by the Avett Brothers, commonly referred to as the “New Years Eve Song,” because it was first played to an audience on New Years Eve 2010 in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s also known as “Scared to Die,” from a lyric in the chorus.
I first heard this song at the Kalamazoo show on January 27, 2011. At the end of the first chorus, when Seth sang, “If I live the life I’m given, I won’t be scared to die,” we all realized this unfamiliar song was not a cover, but a new Avett song.
It has since become one of my favorite of their songs. Find a discussion of this song on forum at the Avett Brothers website here, and my PDF of the lyrics and chords here.
I recorded this video with a Flip MinoHD (older version at 30fps), and the audio with a Zoom H2, and mixed them together with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 on a Macbook Pro. My guitar is a 2004 Santa Cruz D/PW (Dreadnought Pre War).
Posted in Music | Comments Off on Cover: Untitled by the Avett Brothers
I’ve been thinking about directory structure lately. I have to deal with it all the time, generating so much material (e-mail drafts, photos, newsletters, handbills, handbooks and so forth). What goes where?
You’ve got what it is (a postcard). You’ve got what it’s about (a protest). You’ve got where it’s happening (Chicago). And when it’s going on (July 2010).
At least four different “folders” you could put it into. But why have to put it in just one? Or better yet, why not just one—one folder for everything, with user tags to make it all accessible? [Continue reading this entry »]
I’ve just created a special page on this site for my guitar arrangements of songs by The Avett Brothers, including “Shame,” “I Would Be Sad” and “Down with the Shine.” I’ve got about 16 or 17 songs uploaded a this point, with another 8 or 10 I’m hoping to upload in the coming days.
No band has inspired me to play so much, and I can credit the Avett Brothers’ music with helping me to improve my guitar playing dramatically. I hope my arrangements will be helpful for others Avett fan guitarists. Check out the page here.
This evening I walked into the house a little late—around 5:45 after first stopping at the library for four copies of To Kill a Mockingbird and then dropping my assistant Matt off at home to spare his wife, eight weeks with child, from having to drag their two little boys out into the cold to pick him up—and my four-year-old daughter Mary (who is a pixie) cried, “Daddy’s Home!” and ran—not into my arms—but back into the dining room where dinner was warm and ready to eat.
Today is Mardi Gras—Fat Tuesday—the day of feasting before Lent begins in the the Western Church. For a Byzantine Catholic, whose Lenten fast began Sunday evening with Forgiveness Vespers, Mardi Gras presents a particular temptation. But not what you might think.
I recorded this video with a 
I’ve been thinking about directory structure lately. I have to deal with it all the time, generating so much material (e-mail drafts, photos, newsletters, handbills, handbooks and so forth). What goes where? 
I’ve just created a special 
This evening I walked into the house a little late—around 5:45 after first stopping at the library for four copies of