"If there's a god looking down below, I hope he sees all that he controls. And if he chooses not to intervene maybe its best that I don't succeed."

I'm going to let my friend, Jason, blog for me today. And by that, I mean that I'm feeling lazy as shit and his blog talks about me so I'm going to link it.


In this one he talks about the conversations that he and I have had, usually over wings at Waterloo Icehouse, about Jesus/faith/atheism/yadayadayada.

In this one he talks about why he likes my song "On Modern Men," and relates it to the first blog.

I love it when people talk about me and Jason's a really kind and smart guy. When you're done reading the blogs be sure to listen to his music and get your life enriched, as well.

I don't agree with everything he says (and I guess that's kind of the point), but most of my complaints with his post are semantics and not worth noting because I think I agree with the core of what he's saying. Enjoy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDENDUM:
Jason doesn't have a link on his new site to the Jets Under Fire site, and you can get way more of his music there (for free!!) so I thought I'd add it.

Why are you so bad at all the things that really matter in life?

Sometimes I'll find a record that is so good that, obviously, it should make the band instant superstars but it doesn't, and hardly anyone hears it or is ever aware of the band's existence. And then it makes me feel like, "If people don't care about this record, why the hell would they care about mine?" and I get just a little bit depressed.

All that to say that this Features record has really been hitting the spot lately and may possibly be my favorite record of the year. I know I've already talked about it before but you really should own it.

How about this: If you don't buy this record people will really start questioning your sexuality, patriotism, friendship, intelligence, and overall humanity. I guarantee it, asshole! Don't question it, accept it!

In actuality, before the internet, very few of the best things in life were free.

My wife is beautiful, understanding, kind, and supportive. She's good for a laugh too. She's allowed me yet another night of recording and while I would much rather stay in with her and catch up on our TV shows, that EP isn't going to record itself. Now that I'm sure that the EP is going to be worthwhile, I'm wondering if we shouldn't be trying to rush it out in January and give it a little time for whatever press attention it may get. We'll see.

I'm really pumped about Thanksgiving next week. I've been missing my family and when we come back, my brother and his family are coming back with us to visit for the first time since we moved into our house. My sister-in-law, Kara, is going to shoot a wedding with Leah, and Seth and I and all our children will get some sweet hang time. We hope to show them a good time.

Have you ever noticed that in The Great Gatsby the only remotely likable character is Gatsby?

Call me "old fashioned" but I still think fire is magic.

These are damn near perfect. My wife and child are damn near perfect. Come on 5 o'clock.

Matt and I finished up all of the main vocals for the EP last night and its sounding incredibly badass. Not to toot my own horn too much but I'm excited about everyone hearing it.

If I had 3 wishes, they would go like this:
1. For myself and all my friends and family to have infinitely good health and live as long as we choose while aging as much as we choose.
2. To make a comfortable living with Quiet Company (Leah wouldn't have to work unless she wanted to, and I could just wake up and record all day and do 2 or 3 tours a year)
3. All the powers of Superman (not my favorite superhero but if you're going to wish for someone's powers, Big Blue is like winning the lottery).

I feel like that's reasonable. All you people wishing for world peace are suckers.

So, Mr. Diabetic, you like insulin? Well, did you know THAT INSULIN TREATMENT IS CANADIAN?!?!

We have returned safely to our home, with the realization that vacation will never be like it used to be again, or at least not for a long time. Travelling with an infant in tow is a vastly different experience than the travelling we've done previously. That's probably obvious to everyone, but I guess we were overly optimistic, since Harper is so good at home. But vacation means she's off her schedule, and she really likes that schedule, it really works for her. I feel like she was perpetually tired for 9 days and somehow even when she slept it wasn't the quality of sleep that she gets in her own bed and didn't rejuvenate her the way it should've.

I'm making it sound worse than it was. She was still really good a lot of the time but I'm just not used to her being so moody. American Harper is far superior to Canadian Harper.

Other than the insane stress that comes with flying with an infant and a resident alien with a misplaced green card, and driving in Toronto (with their incredibly short left turn arrows and badly spaced turning lanes that make every left turn a game of Russian Roulette), we had a good time. We got to spend a lot of time with family and Leah's sister, Elana, and her fiance, Ian, came in from London for the week as well. Ian's a scientist doing stem cell research, which to me is like being somewhat of a rock star.

Sometimes its hard to see the differences between Canada and the U.S. But one huge difference is the way our patriotism is expressed. Both countries are incredibly patriotic with flags waving everywhere so let me give you an example of what I mean. Not too long ago, someone here in my office was expressing his discontent with Obama because Obama apologizes for the U.S. around the world. I said how I thought that we should apologize when we'd done wrong and that there's nothing weak about humility and why didn't he think America should have to apologize? "Because we're America!" was his answer, and apparently that truth is self evident, to him anyway. In Canada, patriotism most often materializes itself in endearingly innocent proclamations. Things like: "IMAX is amazing! DID YOU KNOW ITS CANADIAN?!?"

Toronto is great, but alas, Austin, you are my truest love (as cities go, of course).

Toronto is by far the most multi-cultural city I've ever been to, more than NYC, more than San Francisco, more that Austin. We were staying in a really Russian area, so most of the people we encountered in the neighborhood sounded like Bond villains, but were friendly enough....I guess. Drivers in Toronto don't give "the Wave" which is a problem. That little gesture says so much. It can mean "thanks" or "I'm sorry" but when its not there its absence might as well mean "go to hell." Its just good manners, and I think I only saw one other driver give the wave the whole time we were there. And Canadians are usually so friendly.

The best perk of multi-culturalism is the food. They easily have 10 times the options that we have here when deciding what to have for dinner. But they also have Tim Horton's, which is an amazing restaurant that has perfected the apple fritter. I've been known to punish myself with an obscene amount of apple fritters when Tim Horton's is available. We also frequented Swiss Chalet and a few different Crepe places.

Another experience worth noting was when I got to sit in a room full of my Canadian family and listen to them all talk about how much they love their health care system, and though it isn't perfect, they would never, ever trade it for ours. And that's the extent of my political agenda for this post.

On our last night there, Leah and I went dancing with Ian and Elana and some friends of theirs at a club called Stone's Place, that plays all old Motown and early 60's rock and roll. I love watching Leah dance, she has a unique style that makes her joy infectious. The DJ was on his game and played ABC and then Signed, Sealed, Delivered back to back. We left on a high note, and the next day began our harrowing trip back to the colonies.

I was so happy to visit everyone in Canada but I hated to leave just when the recording was starting to really get going. All week, I was thinking of ideas for songs but there was nothing I could do with the ideas. I've been jonesing for the studio and missing my band brothers. I know we need a rehearsal this week for the show on Friday but I really, really hope that we get in a day of recording as well.

When we were in the Houston airport, somebody came up to me and said "Are you the lead singer of Quiet Company? I've been to like 5 of your shows." Totally made my day.

Next week is Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to seeing my family. I feel bad that they haven't gotten to spend more time with Harper but these past few months have been ridiculously busy and we're at least 3 1/2 hours away from everyone.

Elana & Ian gave me a copy of Richard Dawkins' new book, The Greatest Show On Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, which is an awesome gift that I will enjoy. It will probably be a while before I'm finished with it, as its one of those books that you have to actually put forth effort to absorb the content, and I'm still reading The Great Gatsby. Oh yeah, and I'm a slow-ass reader.

The Mounties call to me...

Its my last day of work before we head to the north for family fun and relaxation. While I'm hoping the vacation is relaxing, preparing for it certainly isn't, especially with a baby in tow. We're going to get to the airport really early to give ourselves time to deal with problems, should they arise, so I'm sure it will be fine.

I'm re-reading The Great Gatsby. I read it in high school, and I enjoyed it, but being forced to read something always makes it at least 50% less enjoyable.

Tonight, we'll be packing and organizing, tidying the house, and hopefully getting to bed incredibly early. Tomorrow, long before the ass crack of dawn, we'll be waking up and headed to Canada. I doubt I'll be blogging while we're gone but I'll be back on the 15th so expect a big ol' Socialist, liberal, tirade on the 16th.

Until then, may all your bowels move smoothly.

You really can make a weapon out of anything!! :-)

I think the funniest thing I've said so far today is "Joel Osteen's version of what Jesus would want or think is the equivalent of someone saying 'If Martin Luther King Jr. were here today, I'm sure he'd tell us all to kill whitey.'"

Got some recording done last night, more vocals and guitars and Jeff laid down drums for another song. Coming along, coming along. I can't wait to get all the horns, strings and extra singers on it. Its going to sound HUGE. I wish we had more pictures from the process but alas, "wish in one hand, shit in the other..."

Leah still isn't feeling well, so we've cancelled our plans for tonight so she can have more of a day to relax. I think she's just starting a cold so hopefully, she'll be feeling better before Friday when we head off to the great white north. I can't wait to get back to Toronto, its one of my favorite cities, I just hope Harper is cool on the plane. She probably will be.

Leah and I decided that, in our house, we would have a rule for dealing with inflamed emotions. The rule is "If its a big enough deal to be affected by, its a big enough deal to talk about. If its not a big enough deal to talk about, then its not a big enough deal to be affected by." We wanted to establish this rule early because eventually, Harper will be a teenage girl, and I think this rule will help deal with all of that...stuff. That being said, I'm wondering if I'm already in conflict with my wonderful rule. I have some old friends that, one way or another, have hurt my feelings but I've never said anything about it because I never get to see them, and when I do see them, I'm just glad to see them. Lately, I've been wondering if it would benefit anyone to call their attention to it, or not. I'm not actively angry at anyone, its just disappointing to feel like you must've cared about someone more than they cared about you.

I digress.

I haven't heard the new Weezer record yet, except for the first single, "I want you to". Not having heard it, I can't comment on its quality, but I think Pitchfork has Rivers Cuomo pegged. My hopes are not high for this once saviour-esque band to ever return to their former glory. But where Weezer and Star Wars are concerned, Cameron would say I'm like the abusive husband who says he loves his wife but runs her down all the time. Maybe so. Or maybe Rivers Cuomo should start taking himself more seriously, and George Lucas should realize that just because you can make an entire world with a computer doesn't mean that you should and also that you can't CGI good acting or directing.