Don't Panic

Every once in a while you rediscover something that had crept in to the deep, shadowed recesses of your brain to sleep and be forgotten. If you're lucky you'll stumble across it with a mixture of joy and disbelief, much like finding a twenty dollar bill in the middle of the street.

For me, the rediscovery has been Douglas Adams. I had been discussing him passionately with a friend of mine and she asked, "Have you read 'Last Chance to See'?" I replied that I had, but it was a long time ago. I have fond memories of the book because I read it during a great time of my life but I read it quickly because it was someone else's book and I was only living at their house for a few weeks.

So, I tracked down a copy and re-read it this past week. I loved it more the second time. It is such a joy to read the words of an intelligent, funny, peculiar person when they are speaking of something that is entirely out of their own element. Imagine sending Bruce Springsteen down in the next dive to explore the depths of the ocean or recover the Titanic. An odd choice for the job and perhaps he's underqualified but some interesting songs would probably come of it. Imagine dropping the members of Coldplay on to the moon with a mic, a recording device (some space suits, of course) and asking them to talk about the experience. I grant you they've already done this in one of their videos but that's beside the point. The point is placing something or someone where it has no business being and allowing that thing/person to comment on the situation. In this case, it's an incredibly entertaining success.

The BBC decided it would be great if Douglas Adams (who writes funny science fiction novels) and Mark Carwardine (who is a noted and respected zoologist) travelled together to incredibly difficult to get to places around the world visiting, commenting on and raising awareness of some of the worlds most endangered species. The book has everything: dragons, drinking, jungles, deserts and shopping for condoms deep in communist China. How can you not bake a delicious cake with a recipe like that?

And it's created awareness for me. I'm being nicer to my cat. I want to write a song about the kakapo. I'm watching more of the Nature channel. I was on the subway with a woman who smelled remarkably like the African Pavillion at the Metro Zoo and I tried (with limited success) to just bask in the musk.

So what am I saying here? Well, read some Douglas Adams. That's for certain. And try something different. Just because. Sleep on the other side of the bed. Take the long way home on purpose. Watch a television show upside down. Anything. It's amazing how the smallest changes can alter our perceptions. So try something new, revel in the discomfort and - most importantly - don't panic.

Gravity Always Wins

I remember the first time I beat my father in chess. Not to sound too dramatic, but...the world changed.

There are certain people who live above our heads. Idols, gods, icons - call them what you will. These are the people that we strive to be. They usually define facets of who we are and what we will become. And it's often terrifying to realize - without arrogance or boast - that, "I can do that better than they can."

The first time I beat my father in chess I went up to my room, sat on my bed and stared at my Star Wars wallpaper. I didn't know what to do. This was a man who was better than I was at everything: at hockey, at running, at math, at speaking, at cooking and certainly at chess. In my mind, I had thrown a stone and a giant had fallen.

Well, it's happened again. The greatest musical influence of my life has finally touched the ground and it's doubtful their wings will ever work again. I am speaking of U2 and their new record, "No Line on the Horizon."

It is not a great record.

Anyone who knows me will realize that me writing that down is akin to killing my firstborn child with my own hands. It's an ok record. There are moments (echoes?) of greatness and moments of interest and moments of discovery but they seem unable to sustain that size like they used to. I feel a bit pedantic listening and judging but after four and half years, you'd expect the biggest band in the world (with no limit to their resources) to dazzle, to soar, to break new ground.) But they don't. Thom Yorke is right. "Gravity always wins.' Now, it's a wonder that they managed to stay in orbit so long. This is a band that found worldwide success almost 25 years ago and have bounced between soaring and flapping madly to stay in the air since then. Their toes have touched the ground on occasion (see the majority of 'Pop') but they've always managed to catch an updraft at the last second and keep the sky. As such, it's hard to be angry at them because they've built all these expectations on their own shoulders. But it's hard not to be disappointed. It's hard not to be afraid. Who reigns when the king dies and there's no heir to the throne?