hope that i get old before i die…

well, it seems that this is the week of “women who rock”.

it all started with….

sonia leigh. a singer/songwriter from georgia who knows how to bring the house down with her onstage presence and a very tight sound. she plays a kind of blues/rock hybrid with a little bit of country influence and if you go see her perform live you will *not* be disappointed at all. she was the opening act on sunday and she could have been the headliner for all the energy and passion she put into her set. if you like music at all you absolutely must go see this woman play.

next up was meiko, another singer/songwriter from georgia (who happens to be friends with sonia leigh too). she’s a lot more mellow compared to sonia leigh, but her songs come from deep within and she puts herself out into the world with each performance.

she was followed by jaime wyatt. jaime reminds me a little of chrissy hines, if chrissy hines played a jazzy blues/country style of music. she puts a lot of great energy into her performance and it’s very easy to just get caught up in the vibe when she’s onstage.

finally the show was wrapped up by sally jaye, another singer/songwriter from georgia (who is also friends with sonia and meiko). sally’s music is pure country through and through, but the good kind, not the stuff you hear on the radio. and she’s an amazingly talented singer on top of that. her songs are insightful and very well crafted, and she’s one of the most down to earth people i have ever met.

that was the sunday night lineup. moving on to tuesday night….

the venue was a new-ish cafe downtown called the lost souls cafe. it was a pretty large coffee shop with a space near the entrance set up as a “stage”. really it was just a drum set with a PA, but it made for a nice cozy space to get close to the music.

the show started with a dynamic duo, as performed by valeri lopez, and her good friend soyu sae. these two ladies really know how to write some great music. they played each other’s songs, sang each others harmonies, and just made such a great show that it was almost a shame it had to end. valeri said she’s moving to oregon soon, so this may have been their last performance together for awhile. but that just makes the “reunion” shows that much better

they were followed by one of my favorite local artists, amy kuney. i’m pretty sure i’ve written about amy before, but since i love her music so much i’m just going to say some more. amy’s songs are a little on the cynical side at times, sometimes sarcastic, but always well written to the point where you can identify with just about every song she sings. she also has a humorous side with her music, but not to the point of being campy. she’s going on a small tour soon, so she may be coming to a town near you

and finally, tomorrow night i will be seeing one of my all time favorite musicians — sara hickman. what can i say about this wonderful lady that even comes close to capturing the kind of person she is? i was first made aware of her when i was living in austin many years ago. she had a following there, but i couldn’t figure out what made so many people so in love with her music until i finally saw her perform live. just by herself she plays as if she’s an entire band up on stage. her energy is beyond comparison and every show she plays is overflowing with her enthusiasm.

one of the reasons she is one of my favorite people in the entire world is based on something i had heard about her back when i was first hearing about her. and i read in one of the articles written about her that she gave herself an allowance from her music in the low five figures and donated the rest of her earnings to her favorite charities. i have never found mention of that again, but i met her one time and i have to say that it’s probably still true, considering all the volunteer and charity work she does with her time — besides making some great music people who can live within their ideals are always inspiring to me, especially when it makes the world a better place to live.

six arrested in plot to attack fort dix

the rhetoric from bush & company has always been that the war in iraq is necessary because “if we don’t fight them over there, they will bring the fight to america”. well, we’re *still* over there and here we have a group of “foreign born muslims” plotting to attack one of our country’s most famous army bases. not only attack, but having a pretty well researched plan in the works from the reports coming out about the story. so will this plot be considered a fluke or will it become a rallying cry to bring the troops home asap? my best guess says neither. bush won’t want to admit this even happened, otherwise it blows that whole rationale from above out of the water. and i’m doubting the dem0crats’ collective resolve in ending this war, even if they’re given something like this to show that the president’s rhetoric is just a bunch of talk.

and in other news, new power sharing government in northern ireland

this is the culmination of decades of attempts to resolve the differences between the irish republicans — who are mostly catholic and want ireland to have its own government — and the unionists, who are mostly protestant and want the british to continue to rule over the government of ireland. i find myself thinking about the relationship between this struggle and the israeli/palestinian conflict, which is also divided mostly along religion and the question of self-determination. and which will also take decades to resolve, despite any progress made in the last 15 years. the irish conflict suffered many setbacks, but the main difference is that both sides grudgingly sat down and listened to each other’s demands and figured out a way to stop hating each other long enough to come up with a plan. time will tell if they have stopped hating each other long enough to make this work, but today’s new government is a step in a direction that nobody thought would ever arrive. it gives me hope that one day israel/palestine can be resolved peacefully, but i’m not counting on either side in that particular conflict to let down their guard the way the irish and british have. at least, not any time in the near future. not without some major changes in attitude on each side, and that’s not the kind of thing that should be rushed if the peace is going to last.

until the philosophy
which holds one race superior
and another inferior
is finally and permanently
discredited and abandoned
everywhere is war
me say war

and until there’s no longer
first class and second class citizens
of any nation
until the color of a man’s skin
is of no more significance
than the color of the sky
me say war

and until the basic human rights
are equally guaranteed to all
without regard to race
this is war

that until that day
the dream of lasting peace
world citizenship
and the rule of international morality
will remain but a fleeting illusion
to be pursued
but never attained
now everywhere is war

war in the east
war in the west
war up north
war down south
war
war
rumors of war….

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

i guess i’ve been thinking a lot lately about the inevitability of time and how we spend our lives sweating the small insignificant things when there are much larger problems we face as inhabitants on this planet. it all started a few months ago when one of my co-workers asked me why i chose my current career path, given that i got my first degree in physics and, as he put it, “you could be helping to save the world with your background”.

and in the few days since LA police attacked people at a rally for immigrants’ rights it’s really begun to sink in a lot more. i guess there are two main paths that we all choose to follow in our lives. we either follow our jobs into higher and higher paying positions or we spend time on the things that give us purpose in life. there just isn’t much room for doing both in one lifetime unfortunately. and couple this with the fact that my job is entirely unfulfilling lately, and i’m in a mood to question my very existence. it’s just a passing feeling like it always is, but that doesn’t make it any less real here and now. i think i just need to find a job that will let me take a vacation for a living. well, not for a living, maybe only 6 months out of the year….