Another late one after “the workshop”…Got another 4 hour night sleep last night and had an early morning flight… Nice to see that some people were still up at 5:45 when I had to go get a taxi…Yeah…I guess they know how to party in Polski/Polen/Polska or whatever they call it these days…

Thought I was going to go to bed early tonight, but as it’s almost 2 I guess I’ve failed in that objective as well…Tired but don’t want to sleep…

Pictures will follow I guess. They are to be collected from the americans, germans, polish, italians and Norwegians who were at the workshop.

I get asked regularly how often I go back to the states or why I don’t go visit the states…I guess as the song says “I’m lonely but I ain’t that lonely yet”…Was never close to my family I guess…but I don’t think my parents are close to their families either…
I accepted when I left that there were certainly people that would probably die before I got back for a visit…

since I’ve only been up because of the music I’ve been listening to for the last 3+ hours and I just heard this song I’m posting lyrics now…
this is from Floater (a Eugene band)…(btw Matt have you listened to the floater album I gave you?). The live album sound mix is horrible, but the live version is 11 minutes long and the album version is only 9 and half minutes, so i can’t post all lyrics of this song, but the part that always struck me is this:

The young men came down, down to the river,
to wash their hands of the mud.
The young men came down, after the stoning,
to wash their hands of the blood.
See all the young men come down, down to the water,
to wash off the mud. To wash off the blood.
You just repeat what you said.
You mean what you say.
Young women came down, down to the river,
to wash their legs of the blood.
Young women came down, after the birthing,
to wash their legs of the blood.
I saw the women go down, down to the water,
to wash their legs of the blood.
The blood…the blood.
Repeat what you said.
You never mean what you say.
I just repeat what you said.
Keep still child.
I’m washing your insides away.
That’s a good boy.
You know we love you

I always though it was interesting that (to me) the point of the song is that men take life (or destroy physically, emotionally etc) (the young men go down to wash their hands of the blood) and that women give life (the women go down after the birthing to wash their legs of the blood). Simplistic I know, but that’s what I do…
Also note to Matt….listen to the drums on “The Knowing Dirge”

which leads me to another thought…
Religion and war are really the only thing that every isolated culture has in common…there seem to be some common evolutionary need for people to have those two things…think europe, Africa, Asia, Oceana the americas, etc…Are there other things that every culture has in common besides those two things (and the basic will to survive?)

and another thing….
I’m really tired of (americans) people citing a movie as something “historical”…yeah it’s great that you saw a movie based on historical events (thirteen days – anything really) -, but “movies” aren’t real…even if they claim to be “based on actual events” or even a “documentary”…really if you’re interested in an event give yourself some credibility by actually reading books of people who were at those “actual events” even if those people’s opinion of events don’t jive with whatever you’ve been told….also if you’re actually interested in said “historical event” please read more than one book or person opinion of what happened. They won’t agree…

and….
“the fog of war” was an excellent “documentary” which is largely based on an interview(s) with Robert McNamara (bloody irish-americans).

and other songs that affected me tonight
Raconteurs – Blue Veins
White Stripes – Dead Leaves and dirty Ground

a million others, but I’m just tired now….