One of my friends called the other day and talked about my upcoming birthday, as well as the state of my love life, which has remained dormant for quite some time now, with the occasional dates here and there.  “If some of us chipped in to get you a prostitute for your birthday, would you be happy about that?”

I burst out laughing.  “No.”

“What if she was a really nice prostitute?”

“No.”

“Like maybe fifty bucks?”

“No.  I’m worth way more that that!  That’s not a ‘nice’ prostitute, by the way.”

“What if I got a bunch of people to contribute, and we came up with like fifteen hundred bucks?”

“I’d just ask you guys to give me the money.”  We both laughed.  “That could go a long way.  I could get a really good cello bow or something.”

Like I said, it’s still a month or so away, and choice of present not withstanding, at least he remembered it’s coming up, so I guess we’ll see what I have in store for me.  My last few birthdays have been really awesome ‘birthweeks’ of extended celebration, and I have good reason to believe that this one may be especially big.

Just to be on the safe side, though, I’d better start watching my doorstep for prostitutes.

I should mention that I’m in Seattle for the holiday week, and that this will only be a short entry, but I did want to share with you the new insult I learned today.  I overheard it on a kids’ show that my niece was watching.   A boy band of sorts was trying to put on a Christmas concert, and a policeman was harassing them and trying to thwart the concert, and one of the guys in the band referred to him as a ‘blowhole.’  As in, “Hey, shut your piehole, you blowhole!”

I think that’s going to be my new favorite insult from now on.  I love it because it sounds a bit risque and naughty without actually being naughty.  Adam Carolla’s clever portmanteau ‘jackhole’ works the same way.   ‘Manhole’ is similarly not-naughty, but in that context it just sounds all kinds of wrong.  So ‘blowhole’ is perfect.

You’re welcome.  And Merry Christmas.

above – Kên Keeping Still, Mountain
below – Ch’ien The Creative, Heaven

The Judgment:

The Taming Power of the Great.
Perseverance furthers.
Not eating at home brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

The Image:

Heaven within the mountain.
The image of the Taming Power of the Great.
Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity
And many deeds of the past,
In order to strengthen his character thereby.

* * * * *

Khû has two meanings. It is the symbol of restraint, and of accumulation. What is repressed and restrained accumulates its strength and increases its volume.

* * * * *

26. Major Restraint

Major restraint.
It is beneficial to persist.
Not eating at home brings good fortune.
It is beneficial to cross the big river.

Some major problem is holding things back. It is necessary to put quite a bit of time and effort into doing something about it, to make things go well. Don’t give up.

* * * * *

A difficult and challenging time must be taken as an opportunity to express in the outer world our highest inner principles.  Others are often tempted to test the inner strength that we have gained through study and discipline.  By pushing and prodding, they hope to reveal the weakness of our connection to truth.  If we allow them to do this, we are undermined, and they go on, unlearning and satisfied at having engineered our downfall.  On the other hand, if we keep still and cling firmly to what is right – the Power of the Great – then eventually we can tame the negative energy and instill in others the desire to grow spiritually.

It is just such challenges to our strength and character that enable us over time to embody in practice the strength of the I Ching.  A spiritual understanding that is not practiced under fire is without value; only by applying our knowledge in trying situations do we come into genuine possession of it.  So use these tests as opportunities to purify your thoughts and actions.  By holding to what is correct in the face of pressure, you gain the strength and peace of mind of the spiritual masters.

If you deviate from the path of the Sage and act to punish or condemn others now, misfortune will result.  Instead, meet attacks with stillness, acceptance, and fidelity to proper principles.  Treat others with gentleness, patience, and forgiveness.  If you are steadfast in this, good fortune will ultimately be yours.

(no changing lines)

One wishes to advance aggressively against those who misbehave.  Misfortune results.  It is wise to endure the difficulty with restraint.  In this way, the resolution comes sooner.

* * * * *

These are the things I need to be focusing on at this moment in my life, as I gain strength and clarity throughout these trying times.  Happy birthday to me!

Their sound was fantastic, and you don’t normally hear a lineup like that.  When’s the last time you saw a band with a tuba player?   Add a trumpeter and a clarinetist who also plays the bouzouki, and you know you’re in for a treat.

Occasionally the violinist would play a Stroh violin (we asked her about it after the show) instead, which had a loud, thin, metallic sound.  I commented to Ania that it sounded like a recording from the 1930′s, and just now when I looked up the Stroh, the article said that they were in very common usage on early recordings, up until about the 1920′s or 30′s when microphone technology changed.

They ended their set, and walked offstage to thunderous applause and shouts of “Bravo!” They came out for an encore, but they told the sound person to turn off the PA.  The band walked down the steps to the back of the room, right next to where we were standing.  They launched into a few faster songs in crazy time signatures, and that’s when the dancing and clapping began in earnest.

One girl was whirling particularly fervently (and beautifully), and everyone cleared a space for her to dance.  There were a couple of guys who joined her at various times, and she even grabbed me to join her for a few whirls, which was quite a nice surprise for shy but irrepressible me.  I was more than happy to oblige.

What an excellent and surprising show.  Many, many thanks to Ania, without whom I would have missed out on a completely wonderful evening.  This is turning out to be quite a week.  Saturday I had a fantastic gig at Mississippi Studios, Sunday was the Pogues, last night was this incredible show, tonight is another gig of mine, and on Thursday a few friends are going to the dress rehearsal for a circus in which our friend is performing, and after that I’m heading to the Woods for Classical Revolution and inviting people to celebrate my birthday.

Definitely a great week, all around.

In other news, today I made my very first omelette!  No idea why it took me so long to learn, or why I thought it would be so difficult, but it came out really great.  Roasted bell peppers, tomatoes and cheese on the inside, with spicy guacamole (which I made yesterday!) on the top.   I recommend that combination highly, but I might use green peppers instead, just for the sake of a more interesting color.  Sliced black olives would be nice too.

Anyway.

Time to take a shower and get ready for tonight’s gig.

I’ve been so busy these last two weeks that I’m very far behind on blogging.  You’ll be glad to know that I have a ton to write about, but you may have to make do with a quick little entry like this, or a YouTube video, or something like that before I can start to deal with the backlog.  Tonight is the final play-reading group, tomorrow is a small (but fun) gig with IrishBand, and Friday night is a huge talent show/contest involving IrishBand and a bunch of the funniest and coolest acts in town.  We like our chances for winning, but the competition is so funny and unusual and entertaining that it doesn’t even matter, really.

And I still haven’t even written about the trip to Port Townsend yet.   There are lots of pictures and videos to come in that story.

And there was the contest that IrishBand was in LAST weekend, which we shouldn’t have even entered to begin with, but that’s another story; hopefully a funny one at that.

I’ll be back soon. . .

BassistMichael is a friend of mine, who actually played in Steph’s band for a short time last year. It was great to see him again, and especially to see him play in his natural habitat. He’s really an amazing musician.

It was a totally great evening, and after driving everybody home, I think I got home around 2:30 in the morning. But the weekend wasn’t over yet. . .not by a long shot.

Tonight, Shelby’s taking me out, and we’re going to see DrummerDrew (of Stephanie’s band) play over at Zaytoon, then it’s off to either Pi-Rem or Maiden in the Mist. I’m thinking probably Pi-Rem.

Tomorrow involves BoringFish, then S & W and either sushi or chocolate or both, and then DrummerAdam is coming all the way down from Yakima just to help celebrate my birthday (oh yeah. . .AND he has a gig at the White Eagle).

Sunday, J and I are going to the beach for the day; probably Cannon Beach and Oswald West State Park, but we may head up to Astoria also/instead.

I’ll try to remember to take some pictures and stuff. This promises to be a great weekend.