Free Jazz to Cleanse the Palate

I found at least two items of import while cruising Facebook today:

1) The March 12th deadline for NEA grants was pushed back a week due to technical problems. (Thank you Baby Jesus!) The computer that processes NEA grants was apparently covered in chocolate while yams were stuffed into its expansion slots. (If you don't get that joke, find a time machine and set the dial for 1990).

2) Friend of Culture Shock and cultural gadfly Tim DuRoche posted a video of himself performing as a member of Better Homes and Gardens with compatriots Reed Wallsmith (alto sax) and Bob Jones (bass).

After all our moaning about the Oregon Cultural Trust, I decided that Culture Shock needs a palate cleanser. And while Ornette Coleman may not be the first person to whom you should turn for such a task, that’s who you’re about to get. (Those of you with a low tolerance for inscrutable free jazz, may want to move along). I liked the Better Homes and Gardens rendition of Coleman’s “Song X” because:

1) I love crazy jazz drumming and Mr. DuRoche is a master.

2) As cacophonous as it all may be, they’re laughing at the end—a reminder that we shouldn't be too serious in the midst of chaos.



If that's not enough to keep you satisfied, I'm working on a new Robot Report, as well as an account of a recent brush with the criminal justice system--a report with the working title: Testify! A Morality Tale in Which Our Hero Uses the Power of Persuasion and an Eye for the Truth to See that Justice is Served. Curious?