Predictability

We received our first actual check from ASCAP this week. not for much, but a real honest to goodness check. For the last five years we usually just get a letter that says “no royalties were reported this quarter.” Between this and our selection at CMJ marathon and checks coming in from our distributors every month from CD sales, t-shirt sales, and iTunes download sales I am starting to see real progress with this endeavor. Granted, not enough to justify renting limos and staying at the waldorf, but we’re on our way. The dream life is starting to connect to the real life.

Thinking a lot about predictability patterns the last few days. someone falls, they immediately try to get up. reach out your hand to shake someone’s and they will automatically extend theirs in return. point up and most people will look up. touch someone's left shoulder they will look to their left. If you want to appear famous or important, wear sunglasses indoors. If you want people not to look at you, roll up in a wheelchair. Most people are either day showerers or night showerers. Most people have a set time frame that they are most comfortable going to sleep and waking up. Some people are night owls, and other people are what they call early risers. If you want to create controversy about something, simply tell others that it is ‘rather controversial at the moment’ whether it is or not, it will soon become so.

Pop culture has its patterns. Every generation is repulsed by the decade that preceded it. I assume from how it makes us feel old or worn out or yesterdays news. And then in turn, each generation is obsessed with the generation twenty to twenty five years before it. In the seventies, America was obsessed with the fifties (happy days and lavern and Shirley). In the eighties obsessed with the sixties (the height of the grateful dead mania and the brief return of the Woodstock hippie culture). In the nineties mainstream culture became obsessed with the seventies. All of a sudden disco was in again and the bee gees were cool again. In the two thousands we are just starting to see the resurgence of eighties culture returning to favor, whereas in the last fifteen years you couldn’t get a job if you had anything to do with New Wave or hair bands. Now new wave is making a grand return in bands such as Interpol and franze Ferdinand and modest mouse. Its cool again to sound like that. The Cure just hit the top ten at college radio again. And its going to keep going like this. Already 80’s clubs are becoming all the rage all over America. This will continue through till the late two-thousands when the nineties become the new flavor of the decade in the early twenty-teens.


Hurricanes have a certain predictable pattern to them; this is what prevents a lot more deaths from happening than normally would without our sophisticated tracking equipment. Tornadoes don't have as much predictability attached to them. but that in itself is a pattern that we will one day be able to use to control them better I believe. Find a way to apply chaos theory to the trajectory of tornadoes and in turn ... [just heard yesterday that we can now “seed clouds” in order to get it not to rain in a certain area or town for a few days if we want to. I had no idea we could prevent rain now. wow.] 
Predictability patterns.... Reminds me of the fighting arts. Being a good fighter is all about these patterns. Punch someone in the stomach they will bend over. Kick someone in the shin and they will lift up their leg. You can then kick their other leg out from under them to bring them down. Poke someone in the eyes and they will lift their hands to their face automatically. This will free up their abdominal section. Things like that. good fighters know all the patterns. That's what makes them a good fighter.

Scream at someone and they will get mad and not hear what you are saying. Ignore them or leave the room or hang up the phone and they will become more angry. Smile at them while they are screaming at you and you can break their pattern of being angry. Usually. 

In debate do not get emotional or your opponent and your audience will lose track of what you are saying and instead respond only to your emotion. The British are masters at maintaining their composure in debate. The Americans are notorious for losing theirs. The Italians take losing your composure to whole new levels. The French make not caring either way an art form.

O.k. A little stream of consciousness stereotyping. Make the Latinos/hispanics mad by insulting their wives or their manhood. Make the Italians mad by insulting their mothers. Make the Muslims mad by insulting their God or religion. Whatever you do, don't do that, because they're still beheading people for God sakes. Make the Canadians mad by making fun of their accent. Make the Americans mad by insulting their country or government. Make the blacks mad by insulting their color. I don't think you can make the Jews mad. They don't get mad, they only get richer. The English of course don't get mad. Its something genetic I'm told. You can easily make the French mad by either, one, insulting their food, or two, being American. The Germans are the smartest most educated people among us. And they take a great pride in it. You can try to make them mad by telling them that they are all stupid. But chances are, they won't take you seriously and instead just laugh at you. growing up speaking four languages before the age of five will do that to you. I suppose you wouldn’t want to make a German mad anyway. We all remember what happened the last time the Germans got really mad. I made a Jamaican mad once by insulting the pot he just sold me, but he forgot what he was mad about like three minutes later.  

From my buddy in Brasil; just interesting, that's all: “Married life is very different. More responsibility with more fulfillment as well. It's flying in higher altitudes...My definition of I includes someone else. It's pretty crazy stuff. Before, if I was OK, everything was OK. Now my challenge is making a bigger cell, that includes Jen, be OK in order to experience the feeling  "everything is OK". It's not the easier thing to do, but we are learning a lot and I personally  love that challenge. Once you get to the everything is OK is a much bigger area that is covered. It’s an amazing and new feeling of power.”
Last screening: Paycheck. Typical Hollywood. But a cool ride.