Tales From Another Planet

If you're interested in an overly prosaic introduction to The Tower, from a different perspective, then here it is. Teenage angst is quite an intriguing concept. It does make you wonder why all the YA novels seem to be distopian in nature. By- K. A. Reis               The pulse of the desert’s heat reminded her, oddly enough, of the beginnings of her long journey. She reminisced about that experience: the long gray wool coat she had worn to brace against the frigid air outside, the questioning looks on the faces of the receptionists and agents at the long functional counter as she swept one perfectly manicured hand through her long dark hair. The girls and boys in their smug blue uniforms glanced up at her from their files, folders, and phones. As they looked at her, she saw in their faces a mixture of incredulity and admiration. Perhaps they were actually thinking something else, but that was what she saw in her unusually emotional s...

By TC Up next in the Live Trax Series is Volume 6 which captures both nights of the 2006 run at Fenway Park in Boston.  For those of you who still buy CDs, this is a 4-disc set. DMB Live Trax Volume 6 07.07.2006 & 07.08.2006 Night 1 1) Everyday 2) Pig 3) Proudest Monkey » 4) Satellite 5) The Idea of You 6) Grey Street 7) Bartender 8) Crash Into Me 9) Jimi Thing 10) The Last Stop 11) Digging a Ditch 12) Tripping Billies 13) Can't Stop 14) Hunger for the Great Light 15) Louisiana Bayou 16) Ants Marching 17) Smooth Rider 18) Stay (Wasting Time) Night 2 1) One Sweet World 2) What Would You Say 3) Don't Drink the Water 4) Say Goodbye 5) Grace Is Gone 6) American Baby 7) Break Free 8) Sweet Caroline » 9) So Much to Say » Anyone Seen the Bridge » 10) Too Much 11) Can't Stop 12) Crush 13) What You Are 14) Dancing Nancies » 15) Warehouse 16) Pantala Naga Pampa » Rapunzel 17) American Baby Intro » 18) Two Step These two shows were r...

I've seen a few posts lately about people who are trying to live on a very low cost emergency budget for a very short time frame. Because of the short time frame, the possibilities are not healthy, but they are out there. Because sales prices may vary, a "rock bottom" price for a week of basic meals is almost impossible. However, I do have some tips if you only have a few dollars of cash and a week to get through food-wise. Tips for low-cost emergency food budget Scour your pantry, cabinets, fridge and freezer. Because we often stock up on sales or buy things we don't truly need, odds are that you have something in your pantry. Maybe you have a half a bag of flour and some baking powder, add in a dash of salt, tablespoon or two of sugar, some margarine and a cup of milk and you can make 12 baking powder biscuits (I like the King Arthur Flour recipe best, if you're searching online). Maybe you find a bag of peas or rice that you never took the time to cook. ...

The other day, I happened to visit our local homeschool bookstore on an evening, when kids are not allowed. It was a fabulous time to relax and browse the used curriculum, but there were not a lot of people around that evening. The one employee must have been quite bored, and we started a brief conversation and somehow got onto the topic of whether I have any gifted kids. Of course, every parent thinks their kid is gifted in some way, and all kids do have a special gift, but I knew that he was talking about academically gifted. So my answer was, yes for both of my kids, but not really, since my kids are still little. Here's the thing, kids that are in early elementary school can very easily be gifted in some areas and incredibly far behind in others. So, while my almost 3 year old talks very well and knows most of his phonics, all his shapes and colors, counts to 14 and can do basic addition, that doesn't mean that I'm signing him up for Kindergarten next year. Kids don...

I found this gem from my teenage years, and did some mild editing.  There was a time in my life when I was not quite happy with the person I was. I thought that no matter how educated or sophisticated I was, I was still just another middle class white girl. My parents made enough money for us to live in comfort, but not in style, and I grew up as a penny-pinching product of their tight-fisted lifestyle. For some reason, my younger sister grew up with a much looser pocket, but all will be told in its proper time. For now it is sufficient to say that certain events have changed my perspective of my past, and my hopes and dreams for the future. It was obvious from the first time I picked up a book that I was to be forever a slave of printed words. In the beginning, children’s books had very little appeal to me. I was much more interested in whatever novel was currently causing my mother to ignore me. Fortunately, most of these novels were safe for a little girl’s eyes and act...

by TC Hello Interworld.  It's husband again.  (Tired of me yet!?). Sometimes in life, you just have to be honest with yourself and admit your mistakes.  In this blog post, I publicly admit to a mistake I made for a few years with regards to this album, Live Trax Volume 5. DMB Live Trax Volume 5 08.23.1995 1) Proudest Monkey » 2) Satellite 3) One Sweet World 4) Drive In Drive Out 5) Dancing Nancies » 6) Warehouse 7) Tripping Billies 8) Lover Lay Down 9) Rhyme & Reason 10) Exodus 11) Jimi Thing 12) Pay for What You Get 13) Two Step » 14) Ants Marching 15) Typical Situation 16) All Along The Watchtower This particular album was released in May, 2006.  When it was first announced, fans immediately asked the question - "This is only 8 days after Red Rocks.  Why is this a Live Trax?  What a waste." I made this same mistake. At first glance, this show does look remarkably like the famous Live At Red Rocks 08.15.1995 album that all...

All I have belongs to God All He gives me freely All the grace I don't deserve All the love I'm feeling Dancing circles round and round I lift my arms up, falling down Sheltered in His loving arms I feel the scars that saved me Nothing I have belongs to me, But He has given oh so freely Only by grace can I be saved I'm a dying wreck, pulled from the grave Please accept this song of praise The only thing I can give I give my heart, my life, my soul Worth nothing And I say thank You, thank You, thank You But my thanks are empty I sing songs of praise, and lift my open hands All that I can give, You already have Just take me, and all I am

by TC In early September, 2005, five months since Volume 3, Live Trax Volume 4 was released.  (And, in case you couldn't tell, this is husband checking in on the blog for today.  Hello Inter-world.) DMB Live Trax Volume 4 04.30.1996 1) Two Step » 2) Say Goodbye » 3) Richmond Jam 4) Too Much 5) So Much to Say 6) Crash Into Me 7) #41 8) Lie in Our Graves 9) Jimi Thing 10) Ants Marching 11) Proudest Monkey » 12) Satellite 13) Cry Freedom 14) Drive In Drive Out 15) Typical Situation 16) Little Thing 17) All Along The Watchtower 18) Tripping Billies This show is definitely in the "historically significant" category.  It's the Crash album release party show.  It also marks the beginning of multi-track recording for every show of the band.  Up to this point, only certain shows had been multi-tracked.  From here on out, unless there was an error in the recording (which does happen from time to time), there are multi-tracks of every show. ...

Being a parent has had a profound impact on my personal walk with Christ. At first, the busyness and stress of parenting caught me up in a web of distraction. Lately though, I've come to understand so much more about my personal faith, simply by discussing it with my Kindergarten big kid. The other day, at the library, my youngest picked out a book about gratefulness. It looked like a little kid book, but upon reading through it, we found that it was very much above both of their heads. So, my oldest asked me to explain this concept of gratefulness (since the book really didn't other than pictures). The last picture was of a boy and girl in a kneeling position with hands together, so I explained that gratefulness means being thankful to God for all the many things He gives us. Trying to emphasize that point a little I asked him a follow up question, "What types of things are you thankful for?" He still couldn't think of anything to answer so I asked another way,...

I was reading in my Bible this morning and came across an old familiar passage in a new light. Jesus said, "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 28-30 (ESV). I've probably read this passage a million times, but usually we focus on "come to me" and "my yoke is easy". Today I was drawn to "learn from me, for I am gently and lowly in heart". Lately I've been struggling with kindness in my personal family life. I make excuses (yeah, I know I was going to try not to do that as much) and I justify it, and say I'll work on it when the kids are older. There are times when I will need to adjust my voice volume or tone to my 5 year old, because he can't smell and therefore has a hard time understanding micro-expressions. However, ...

One late spring day, a burst of warmer weather filled the streets of New York City with even more people than usual. Dr. Patrick Armstrong, a noted psychiatrist, and son of a noted psychiatrist, had a cancellation. One of his patients, who had been suffering from severe Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder, decided that it would be a lot cheaper to go to the park and enjoy the sunshine. Dr. Armstrong did charge a small ($50) cancellation fee, but it was still cheaper than an hour’s session, and arguably more pleasant, depending on which patient was arguing.             Dr. Armstrong decided to take a small rest break himself and get some exercise and a cup of joe. Despite the fact that there was a cart-style Starbucks actually in his building, he decided to walk to the larger Starbucks a few blocks away, where the baristas knew him by name, and several patients held a self-help group on Friday nights. When the weather was bad, conven...

On March 17, 2005, Live Trax Volume 3 was released.  If you aren't familiar with downloading shows or tape trading for Dave Matthews Band, this show may not have been on your radar until that day.  Afterwards though, at least for the vast majority of fans, it's a show that hasn't left the rotation since. DMB Live Trax Volume 3 08.27.2000 1) Dancing Nancies 2) Seek Up 3) Linus and Lucy 4) Pantala Naga Pampa » Rapunzel 5) I'll Back You Up 6) Busted Stuff 7) Recently 8) Raven 9) The Maker 10) Grey Street 11) Grace Is Gone 12) Say Goodbye 13) Bartender 14) JTR 15) Ants Marching 16) The Stone 17) Drive In Drive Out This is widely regarded as the best of the Live Trax series.  We're 36 shows in and it still seems there is a general consensus that it doesn't get any better than this particular album.  The 2000 Summer Tour is in the running for the best ever (at least among fans).  The band was in the height of their popularity in the eyes of the ...