2.1581 : 8/31/09 : Bread

Let’s hear it for hummus

let’s hear it for bread

Let’s hear it for wine and beer

without it we’d all be dead

Let’s hear it for dairy

let’s hear it for rice

if we could get a little bit to everyone

wouldn’t that be nice

wouldn’t it be nice if we

broke free of dull selection

and just chose to help everyone

oh maybe, next election

what

2.1580 : 8/30/09 : Days Off

What are days off for

not for this to be sure

in a decade it shall not impress

Seems unlikely there will be

a problem there to address

but just in case

I’ll shake this daze off

and reel until your

tired eyes glaze off

what

2.1579 : 8/29/09 : Five Years On

The magazine folded

was it even a year

and the patrons all got hung out

missed their money’s worth I fear

and I’m not quite pushing 40

but I’m on the downhill side

and lately I admit

I haven’t thought much of the ride

Five years on

from some declaration

whatever I thought it was

was all in my imagination

if it wasn’t for all the ink

visibly spilled

I would count it all a dream

that harsh morning sunlight

killed

what

2.1578 : 8/28/09 : Coda: You’ll Be Back (The Devil’s Trichord 5/5)

You’ll be back

I don’t doubt

speeches don’t mean anything

however we might shout

I could get cynical

at this point but I won’t

I’ll send a silent message:

if you’re tempted to,

don’t

Maybe you’ll get back

and get it all right

keep things in perspective

not stay up all night

Why not, I’ll wish it like

it was already so

in the meantime I think

now

it might be time for me to go

what

2.1577 : 8/27/09 : Me and the Devil’s Rancher’s Blues (The Devil’s Trichord 4/5)

It’s harder than it looks isn’t it?

To get onto a lot you start with such a little bit

and I’m walking a mile in your shoes

walking a while with me and the devil’s rancher’s blues

reread all my hurried notes and they all made sense

but did not make me want to dwell in the present tense

have you made your break friend or are you lurking still

If you don’t know the devil’s rancher

I imagine you will

I wouldn’t trade my son

for a used ukulele

At the crossroads I’m carrying

a big shillelagh

To ward off the devil’s rancher’s blues

but I have to take my chances there

to dig up some more clues

Well you’ll probably never see it

and I don’t really know you

but I felt pain and why you bid adieu

to the ghost world sometimes we all have to get real

And remember that the blues

aren’t all we can feel

what

2.1576 : 8/26/09 : Sympathy for the Devil’s Rancher (The Devil’s Trichord 3/5)

I tease because I love

because I sympathize

I see so much time wasted

regrets dance before my eyes

follow the Devil’s Rancher

to his fields of

hearty stock

I hope it will work

you’ll think me a jerk

but regret to say that

good intentions

are not bedrock

what

2.1575 : 8/25/09 : Friend of the Devil’s Rancher (The Devil’s Trichord 2/5)

Do you know my friend the Devil’s Rancher

he is a friend of mine

I’m writing him a prayer

if you’re so inclined

that his lonely ascent

may see him bursting through the clouds

and turning out

fantastic rhymes

far from the madding crowds

what

2.1574 : 8/24/09 : Prelude: Chase the Sun (The Devil’s Trichord 1/5)

Drive like a maniac

buy a couple minutes

If I were rich maybe I

could outfly it

but that’s the trouble isn’t it?

chase the sun

but you’ll get no more time

the alarm is irrevocable

and from this day

to waste one minute

is a crime

what

2.1573 : 8/23/09 : Definition of Failure

The definition of failure

offloading weakness

on my wife or son;

thinking I’m unique

I’m not the only one

Getting het up about

the fact you can’t beat city hall

the tiny scale, the little picture

don’t mean anything at all

The definition of failure

is doing what’s failed

and failed again

I’ll fold my arms

and not admit defeat

and let it lie

it’s no sin

what

2.1572 : 8/22/09 : Leaving the Body

4,129 : 61 ?

Maybe Jesse was right

hey as a Governor I think

he was all right

and if you think the example is poor

I’ve got to wonder what you think

democracy is for

Maybe pain is weakness

leaving the body

I foresee pain coming

I gotta take it, hey howdy

I bought what I paid for

I truly deserve it

this dish served cold

only me has got to serve it

Maybe pain is weakness

leaving the body

I foresee pain coming

I gotta take it, hey howdy

I don’t know from fate

don’t know from random chance

I only know that

I’ve got just one dance

Maybe pain is weakness

leaving the body

I foresee pain coming

I gotta take it, hey howdy

So if you don’t like it

baby tell me why

The universal principle

The mote in God’s eye

Maybe pain is weakness

leaving the body

I foresee pain coming

I gotta take it, hey howdy

No more random strikes

this has to hit the heart

we are only what we are

but we all have a right to art

Maybe pain is weakness

leaving the body

I foresee pain coming

I gotta take it, hey howdy

Maybe pain is weakness

leaving the body

I foresee pain coming

I gotta take it, hey howdy

what

2.1571 : 8/21/09 : Bootstrap Gospel Mark What?

Like a dream

suddenly awakened

can’t remember a thing

yet somehow I’m shaken

by images buried deep

in the meta-cortex

seen through Miyazaki see

and Robyn Hitchcock vortex

I’m afraid of the scope of the task

I want to offload

some of the work onto Ask

They may mix me true

but I’ve remembered my objective

to rise defiant howling

at the idea that

truth is subjective

what

2.1570 : 8/20/09 : Shit to do instead of wasting time on the internet

Write a scifi story I love that speculative jazz

write a song the world can always use a little more razz-ma-taz

learn to code in Python it’s so awesome

Think of a healthy snack yum yum yum

Play a little Myst it’s retro yo

or waggle that Wii hey I’m the new boho

Got a stack of books waiting to enlighten

and if I haven’t hit the strings in a while I might then

get on the mill and grind out a few miles

write a letter generate some smiles

pick an old lyric and practice it’s free

lay down an a cappella when I’m ready for Carnegie

fire up the DS 10 and code up a track

dig into that old and weird to do stack

Throw out some words on the electric waters

Transcribe old songs for faithful fairly secret spotters

So much to do even without a clue

I’m sorry for time wasted but I can’t rely on You

anymore I’m on my own who knows why why why

But I better not let another minute pass me by

without getting busy working up the old goal shredder

Filling in the database for the next family Easter letter

Pick a box or shelf and get some clutter in hand

do it up do it down spontaneous or planned

listen to music maybe some classical

daydream what I’d study if they paid me to go back to school

say a prayer for everyone I love

and go to sleep when push comes to shove

what

2.1569 : 8/19/09 : My Only Hope

I guess I better confess to it

You better believe I had to stress through it

I want to be a star of unprecedented scope:

But I need help and you’re my only hope

Please help me Wil Wheaton you’re my only hope

Won’t you help me Jon Coulton you’re my only hope

(we’ve got the same name!)

Good God Gabe and Tycho you’re my only hope

I’ve got material I’m no dope!

I need help to get by a little help from my friends

You don’t know me but I’ve got glorious ends

in mind don’t we all need hope

don’t we all need friends to help us cope

Please help me Metafilter you’re my only hope

Won’t you help me Cat Garza you’re my only hope

Help me out Jonathan Blow you’re my only hope

I really want to make it I just need more rope

I need help to get by a little help from my friends

You don’t know me but I’ve got glorious ends

in mind don’t we all need hope

don’t we all need friends to help us cope

Help me Cory Doctorow you’re my only hope

Help me Brad Sucks you’re my only hope

Help me Kristin Hersh you’re my only hope

Never heard of me before you remind me not to mope

I need help to get by a little help from my friends

You don’t know me but I’ve got glorious ends

in mind don’t we all need hope

don’t we all need friends to help us cope

Help me Jonathan Blow you’re my only hope

(yeah you’ve got my name too!)

Help me Four Eyed Monsters you’re my only hope

(someday I’ll see you!)

Help me Frontalot you’re my only hope

(yeah yeah yeah yeah)

And boy Jim Munroe you’re like the DIY Pope

I need help to get by a little help from my friends

You don’t know me but I’ve got glorious ends

in mind don’t we all need hope

don’t we all need friends to help us cope

(and Dave Sim… and Aaron Cometbus)

I need help to get by a little help from my friends

You don’t know me but I’ve got glorious ends

in mind don’t we all need hope

don’t we all need friends to cope

(and there’s so many more!)

what

2.1568 : 8/18/09 : Factotum

Factotum:

count forward 13 days

in some twilight hour

some secret world

what could I say:

I could hardly claim to count

on what’s built

on good intentions

just the moment

and I thought

I’d nod to it

with a slight mention

what

2.1567 : 8/17/09 : Decision

The decision came

without preconceived ideas

the decision was partly

an artifact of a geas

decades ago I didn’t know

how to rectify

hours spent grinding

so clear now

the only lies

associated with the combines

So normal

who doesn’t want tunes

the wicked combine

I can wrap it up

right now

this is the transfer alert

the Sacred Gospel Plow

what

2.1566 : 8/16/09 : For the Road

One more for the road

my boys

all the glamor and lights

were just kids toys

strip something down

to bare bones and lath

a little exposition

after the aftermath

Don’t know where it’s winding

or the destination

if it’s doomed to just another

and another iteration

but it could be worse

oh a thousand times

well at least it’s here

well at least it rhymes

what

2.1565 : 8/15/09 : Attitude

Hey check out my

positive attitude

arrived at honestly

subject to no platitude

of easy return

of gain without work

I’ve got to cultivate it baby

Because I’m no young turk

there’s a lot pressing down

I have to grin and bear it

the shoe fits so well

I guess I have to wear it

don’t wrinkle your nose

at what smells so crude

it’s just me and my

positive attitude

what

2.1564 : 8/14/09 : Wrong Path

Wrong pathing it

Willful, lost

surely there’s consequences

surely there’s a cost

is the goal to make the best of it

or somehow break through

when you’re not even gone yet

and I’m already missing you

keep looking for the right path

if there is such a thing

trying to see how to get on it

and just what I’m supposed to bring

what

2.1563 : 8/13/09 : Failure (III)

If you turned up hoping

to see me pop

Go off the rails, spin off the track

you may just as well go back

because I’ll never let you see me

really see me pop

and the only failure I’ll show you

is the failure to stop

what

2.1562 : 8/12/09 : Failure (II)

Once someone held up to me

a true brass ring

the kind of thing I should have wanted

if I wanted anything

I didn’t stretch out my hand to take it

I barely raised my head

and I suppose that I’ll regret

that failure till the day I’m dead

what

2.1561 : 8/11/09 : Failure (I)

Failure to teach one damn thing

failure to come up with anything

new or even elegant

failure to wonder where the

days all went

until it was too late

all orders dissipate

all flows to lukewarm paste

that’s great if it’s your taste

what

2.1560 : 8/10/09 : Descent

Descent into Glenwood

to Spicer to Priam

no signs on the highway

You have to infer them

these roads that I’ve driven

been driven, so many

times tales of lost days

never told not to any

a joke from an old life

check cancelled long gone

daydream a reunion

get off, get it on

lately I’m always

contending with choice

am I upright or do I

just fear the invoice

what

2.1559 : 8/9/09 : Slow Time

As if a minute means ten

keep tracing over the line again

darkness, coldness

no revelation no boldness

It’s a crime

I can’t battle this slow time

Store up against all those bad old

fleeting moments I can never hold

If you want it you can’t get it

Want to throw it away then forget it

It speaks of a designer true

one who’s got it out for you

It’s a crime

I can’t battle this slow time

Store up against all those bad old

fleeting moments you can never hold

It’s a crime

I can’t battle this slow time

Store up against all those bad old

fleeting moments you can never hold

what

2.1558 : 8/8/09 : The Hat

I have to take

whatever

comes out of the hat

I sure don’t have

the option

to be choosy like that

The pile’s a bit too high

though I’m no ordinary guy

You could say I have to

bring it on

at every at bat

but it could stop right there

that really said it all

but I’ve got this strange obsession

with response and call

If I could do it all

again

or why not six times

or ten

more options more confusion

man

that trick hat is tall

what

2.1557 : 8/7/09 : Flashback

It’s been flashback after flashback

on this weird strange trip

this night’s got three hours left at least

and I don’t want a bit of it

this isn’t how I planned to spend it

but I guess I made these choices

up alone so far past midnight

in the boondocks hearing voices

what

2.1556 : 8/6/09 : Freedom from Constraints

Suddenly without a frame

freed from constraints

in no one's name

was anything learned

was anything good

did a point get made

did you think it should

one less excuse

for my whining complaints

I guess it’s what it looks like

freedom from constraints

what

2.1555 : 8/5/09 : Don’t Mention It (The Golden Age 100/100)

The numbers don’t wait for your good intentions

or your shining hour or your moment of truth

You get what you’re dealt all your honorable mentions

all of us getting slower getting long in the tooth

Don’t mention it don’t mention it

I’d rather stay obscure

keep toiling in anonymity

Maybe someday I’ll be sure

However hard I tried I couldn’t master the popular tone

Maybe life’s gotten too easy short on crisis and shock

Maybe I’m just too wordy all that talking to myself alone

Too much self-evaluation too much taking stock

Don’t mention it don’t mention it

I’d rather stay obscure

keep toiling in anonymity

Maybe someday I’ll be sure

Don’t mention it don’t mention it

I’d rather stay obscure

keep toiling in anonymity

Maybe someday I’ll be sure

Don’t mention it don’t mention it

I’d rather stay obscure

keep toiling in anonymity

Maybe someday I’ll be sure

what

2.1554 : 8/4/09 : Super King (The Golden Age 99/100)

I come on crazy like some kind of crazy super king

I’m going to tear into that list of dreams like anything

And you’ll know I’m there when you hear the king sound

It’s going to put all you doubters right on the ground

Bow to me I am Super King

You aren’t going to believe all the majesty

I’m going to bring

Give it time don’t judge let it percolate

A hundred isn’t very much I’m sure it’s getting great

It’s going to get so sweet, you’ll pop your skull

Isn’t it something isn’t it crazy isn’t it wonderful

Bow to me I am Super King

You aren’t going to believe all the majesty

I’m going to bring

Bow to me I am Super King

You aren’t going to believe all the majesty

I’m going to bring

Bow to me I am Super King

You aren’t going to believe all the majesty

I am going to bring

what

2.1553 : 8/3/09 : Point of Order (The Golden Age 98/100)

He’s praying to be restored

to some long ago state of grace

doubt in his heart

concentration on his face

Bring me back

to the point of order

been far too long

lingering on the border

Longer before that

things were clearer but much worse

Vows to not return too far

Vows to escape the curse

Bring me back

to the point of order

been far too long

lingering on the border

Bring me back

to the point of order

been far too long

lingering on the border

Bring me back

to the point of order

been far too long
lingering on the border

what

2.1552 : 8/2/09 : Revolver (The Golden Age 97/100)

A Song a Day Volume 2.10 being titled

Notebook 23

Who would believe the story

the new leaf the fresh new day

decades of consistent mediocrity

could they really have paved the way?

behold the revolver

give the cylinder a spin

hold it gently in your hand

and let a little glory in

a dozen gentlemen in suits fell to earth

and got right down to the appraisal

will it be worth more or less than we hoped

get ready for the hell we’re going to raise all day

behold the revolver

give the cylinder a spin

hold it gently in your hand

and let a little glory in

behold the revolver

give the cylinder a spin

hold it gently in your hand

and let a little glory in

behold the revolver

give the cylinder a spin

hold it gently in your hand

and let a little glory in

what

the story of the tale and how it was told

Returning tomorrow

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what