This morning, my ipod shuffle treated me to Dave Matthews' and Tim Reynolds' version of "Bartender," from their "Live at Radio City Music Hall" performance. Despite my awful memory, I can still recall the first time that I popped that CD into my car stereo, and the dramatic chills that resulted from Dave's soulful humming at the beginning of the track. It made me think about how much is sometimes said, without a single word being uttered.This morning, my ipod shuffle treated me to Dave Matthews' and Tim Reynolds' version of "Bartender," from their "Live at Radio City Music Hall" performance. Despite my awful memory, I can still recall the first time that I popped that CD into my car stereo, and the dramatic chills that resulted from Dave's soulful humming at the beginning of the track. It made me think about how much is sometimes said, without a single word being uttered.
It is so cool to have a basement. As a kid, I used to spend countless hours in our fully-furnished basement in Massachusetts, marveling at the thought of being underground, while still inside. During my time in Florida, I lived sans basement, although, there I spent as many waking moments as I could underwater, so I guess that's kind of the same thing. And now that I am in North Carolina, my basement serves as my office, my writing space, and my place of peace and quiet. That is when the incredibly loud tread of one very rambunctious two-year-old isn't thundering above me.
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the external messages that we receive as children, and how, even as adults, it is often extremely difficult to replace those messages with healthier ones; even when logically we believe the healthier ones to be true. What, doesn't everyone wake up in the middle of the night thinking of these things?
Yesterday, like nearly every teen in my county, I went to see the "Hunger Games" at the town theater. Several months ago, upon the recommendation of a friend, I started reading the books, and like so many others, became immediately hooked, so I was eager to see how the movie would measure up to the text. I was also very excited to see local footage, as many of the forest scenes were shot within minutes of my home. In my opinion, the movie was fantastic, and that is not an easy feat, since flicks are, so often, watered down versions of their literary predecessors. I won't give anything away, as I imagine many of you will be making this journey on your own, but I can't help but share some of my thoughts on this phenomenon, especially when those thoughts take me right back to DMB. 
Last Sunday, Dave Matthews participated in John Varvatos' Annual Stuart House Benefit. The event, held at Varvatos' West Hollywood Store, raises money and awareness to help children who have been sexually abused. This year, Dave assisted the foundation in raising over $700,000 for this worthy cause.
As Steve Baltin of "Rolling Stone" describes it, the day is full of family fun and relaxation, complete with a kids tent for the little ones.
What an exciting time it is to be a Dave Matthews Band fan! Enthusiasts everywhere are either waiting by their mailboxes for Warehouse packages, or already enjoying the new live releases; tour dates are out, and Steve Lillywhite recently tweeted that this new album will prompt us to stop referring to our favorite DMB records as the “Big 3,” and instead call them the “Big 4!” Steve is, of course, making reference to the first three albums that the band released under his production, “Under the Table and Dreaming,” “Crash,” and “Before These Crowded Streets,” which are widely considered the best Dave Matthews Band works of all time. So much excitement, indeed! So what are we to do as we wait for all of these good things to come our way?
Even by the most conservative standards, it seems safe to start celebrating the upcoming release of the Dave Matthews Band’s 8th studio album! Earlier this week, Stefan Lessard, who is always good about letting fans in on the progress of the group, tweeted, “Just imagine yourself dancing to something new and something beautiful!” And if that’s not enough to wet your whistle, check out this video where Rashawn Ross talks about his role on the new record. 
Over the weekend, I watched a beautiful movie called, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” about a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, who loses his father in 9-11, and embarks on an emotional journey to find the matching lock to a mysterious key. Of course, the lock and key are symbolic of this boy’s search for meaning in a world where his father died an unjust death on what the boy calls, “The Worst Day.”
I hate New Year’s resolutions. Mostly because I feel like they put unnecessary pressure on people to do things that they believe they “should” be doing. It’s not that I don’t think people can change, or that I think trying to improve upon oneself is a hopeless endeavor, it’s just that it seems to me that people are more successful at making necessary adjustments when the impetus for change comes from within, rather than from the fact that it happens to be January 1st. That being said, I have noticed a very interesting yearly pattern in my own life, where I start new projects in September, which happens to be the Jewish New Year. But what fascinates me about this dynamic is the way that it occurs. It’s not like I sit down and plan for Jewish New Year resolutions. (Does anyone even do that?) They just happen, and then, days, or sometimes weeks later, I realize what time of year it is. You would think that after several years of this I would catch on quicker, but, as is often the case, insight doesn’t always follow a logical time-line.
Blame it on the holiday season, but lately I’ve been thinking about the unparalleled power of kindness. Paradoxically, this wonderful quality sometimes eludes us, as we rush around, under the stress of a deadline, worried that our loved ones won’t be sufficiently delighted when they open their gifts. Add a tight budget to this mix, and we might understand why otherwise sane people find themselves fighting over plasma television sets at 3 in the morning on Black Friday, when their tryptophan-filled bodies would clearly prefer a good night’s sleep. In depth psychology, we say that very strong energies often bring up their opposite counterparts. For example, after the horrific events of 9/11, the city of New York saw compassionate connections forming between people who may otherwise have remained distant strangers. In that same way, I wonder if the positive dynamics surrounding Winter’s festivities can also activate some of our negative human traits, like impatience, selfishness, and greed.