The Daily Honky Tonk 173rd Edition

The Daily Honky Tonk
173rd Edition
February 20, 2009
2:26 AM
Hello again. How long have you been standing there? Sorry, I didn’t see you.

I got some spare time on my hands and felt like writing. Writing makes me happy. However, the article from this DHT that I’m going to recommend isn’t written by me. It’s called “Love: A Poet’s Nightmare”. Please read it. It’s an awesome piece of writing. I think you’ll enjoy it.

A couple random notes:
I just got into play acting in 4 or 5 different roles! I didn’t think I was going to get to do a play. . .but this is perfect. The play is Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children”. I had 3 and 1/2 hours of play practice tonight and loved every minute of it. I’ve missed theater a lot. I love it because it helps me to relax and loosen up as an individual.
I watched “No Reservations” tonight and was very impressed. I love movies about “control freaks” and stories that focus on the individual getting past their controlling natures. Naturally I connect with the control freak and try to get an outside look at myself and how I can handle situations better. I’m not so concerned about removing my control freakishness as I was in the past. . . I’m just concerned about keeping it in check and being able to recognize it and react to it in different ways.
On sleeping. You will notice that this email is coming to you from the early morning. The other evening I laid in by bed from 10-11:30 without my mind racing and I couldn’t fall asleep. I got up and talked to people till I thought I was finally tired enough to sleep. I laid back down around 2 and when I checked my phone a couple minutes before I drifted off it was almost three. . .ergh. Last night I slept 9 hours. . .and tonight, I was alive again and will unfortunately be tired at the time when I need to be awake :(

**Note about the author: Jenika Beck is in the singles ward in Champaign Urbana. Although, seeing as she got engaged on Valentine’s Day, I guess she won’t be there for too much longer. She is a graduate from Yale and she is continuing her education at the U of I. I loved this piece of writing and got her permission to include it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Love: A Poet's Nightmare- Jenika Beck
Friday, February 13, 2009 at 1:25am
Have you ever been in a group discussion and thought of an excellent point, only to have it swiped by someone who was a nanosecond faster at raising their hand than you? Or read something in a book and came up with a really great idea, only to keep reading and find that very idea detailed in the following paragraph? (Hey! How dare they print my thoughts!) And name me one thing more irritating than the car in front of you swooping down upon that perfect parking spot merely because they happened to be ahead of you. Yes, infinitely irksome.

Yet such is my life since I fell in love.

I became aware of this when I sat down to write a Valentine's Day poem for my Danny. I poured out my soul only to find the result no more creative than your average Backstreet Boys ballad. Do I really have nothing better to offer than the syrupy musical refuse of the 1990s?

Well, no, but....all the good stuff is taken. Poets have been robbing the shelves of the English language for centuries. First, they stole all the obvious ‘feeling’ words (love, tenderness, kindness, sweetness), and the terms of endearment (sweetheart, sugarpie, honeybunch), then they made off with the simple analogies and anthropomorphisms (sweeter than honey, time stood still), and rounded up the extended metaphors (I miss you like the fields miss the rain). Alarmed by their dwindling stock, they became desperate and started raking up the made-up words, like "snookums." So in sum, when Robert Burns wrote of how his love is like a red red rose, he ruined it all for the rest of us. Thanks a lot, Robbie – how long did you have to chew on your fountain pen before that flash of inspiration? No one would say "O my love is like a red red hydrangea bush." Forget literary genius, these folks just got there first.

The more I become aware of this phenomenon, the more disturbing it all seems. Take, for example, the unsettling trend of adding the suffix "-poo" to the end of a beloved's name, as in "Frankie-poo." Or worse - a poem Danny once quoted to me: "Sho' as the vines twine round the stump, you are my darlin', sugar lump."

Does anyone else sense the direness of the situation? We cannot even use the words 'lump' or 'poo' without plagiarizing someone else's affection!

I thought for a moment that I would take refuge in the nethermost depths of Websters Unabridged Dictionary, only to find that some smart-aleck named Shakespeare stole all those about 500 years ago (the cretin!). Well he wasn't exactly working from a blank slate either. Go read the Roman legend of Pyramus and Thisbe and then tell me what a stroke of genius you think Romeo and Juliet was. Shakespeare lucked out because the Romans died and their language with them (and note: the Romans pilfered the idea from the Greeks). And for the record, I happen to have an answer for Shakespeare’s timeless query "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" No you shall not! Leave something for the rest of us, man!

Is it my fault that I arrived late on the literary scene, only to watch those last crumbs of phrases like "How sweet it is to be loved by you" or "I got you, babe" snatched from my famished mouth, with only the residue of a tired cliché left upon my lips? I wish I had been the first to fall in love, so that my pen could have gushed with depth of feeling, instead of falling on its knees in a desert of available originality.

So, to heck with it. Since I apparently can't come up with anything that hasn't been said for centuries, to Danny I simply offer a few lines from that great smart-aleck, William Shakespeare:

As easy might I from my self depart
As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie.
That is my home of love; if I have ranged,
Like him that travels I return again.

Or the same thing said more modernly by that standard bearer of high culture, 98 Degrees:

"Cause I'm losin' my mind when you're not around
It's all because of you."

I love you, Danny. Happy Valentine's Day to my sweet hydrangea bush. (Sorry, "rose" was taken.)


A Smattering of the News- Mark Tonkinson
At no time in my life have I regularly watched the news. Nor have I ever read the newspaper on a regular basis. I do enjoy reading from Newsweek. I also will read anything anyone points me towards from the Wallstreet Journal (well, I guess technically my dad is the only one who points me there) and I will read any article from major magazines people point me two. . .but two of them have recently caught my attention.
The first was an article that my mom saw on the computer while we were talking on Skype. Alec Greven, a nine year old wrote a book that is doing very well in it’s sales rate called “How to talk to Girls”. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to read it. . .but I do know from the article that its a 9 year olds advice on dating. Does it scare anybody else that something like that can get published? Even if printed with a chuckle and a knowing smile; something makes me uneasy about that. I’m not sure what it is. Nor do I suppose it matters. Perhaps its the fulfillment of the prophecies that the wise would be astounded by the last days! :)
*to find this article just type Alec Greven “How to talk to Girls” into google and you’ll find a bunch. Speaking of Google I knew that it is used as a verb in English, however, I did not know that it was a verb in Spanish- the word is googliar. Goo-glee-are is the pronunciation- who knew?

While in reality, that one only brought a discomfort similar to that which one sometimes experiences on a first day, another article bothered me at a more profound level. The article comes from our friends in the United Kingdom. The title of the article, “Is it selfish to have more than two children?”. Now, before reading the rest of what I have to say, I want you to take a moment and try and think in what area of life you might be selfish in. Got it? Okay, well the thesis of the article, or the controversy that is presented is that it’s selfish to have two children because of the damage it does to the eco-system. I was astounded that I could even be reading an article. It sounds like something I would read in a literary work like “1984”, you know, like, a book you read about a hypothesized world where the humans make vastly different decisions about life that kind of bother you at the core. In “1984” it presents a “Utopia”. . .but not really a Utopia. If I had seen this presented as part of the plot for the Twilight Zone, I would have thought it was a creative story. Seeing as it actually appeared in International News is quite disconcerting.
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7884138.stm


Top Ten Songs
**Music definitely doesn’t have the same appeal that it used too. But I still have some favorites that stay in circulation for a while. These are my top ten. I like doing an occasional top ten list. I did not try and put them into an actual order. . I just listed them as they came to my mind.
The Fray- Syndicate- I actually like this one purely for the sound- somehow I still haven’t listened to the words for its meaning. That’s way unusual for me.
Don’t I Hold You – Wheat – Here is another song that I picked for sound-I watched Elizabethtown a couple weeks ago and I loved the feelings that it brought to the scenes.
White Horse- Taylor Swift – I’ve had this one stuck in my head. . .I love her imagery (no Caleb, don’t confuse that with her image, though, yes, she is beautfiul :) ).
Q- Cartel- “Still it always seems just like, I’ll never know . .. If you’re not getting answers, ask better questions” Or ask someone whose interested in talking to you.
When it Rains-Paramore “You made yourself a bed at the bottom of the blackest hole and convinced yourself that its not the reason you don’t see the sun anymore” Its good to remember when I get in mental ruts that its generally me digging the pit. When I’m smart I stop digging and start building stairs back out .. .I take charge of my mind!
All We Are-One Republic- One of the things I love about music is best displayed here. In the intro, as best I can tell he plays a total of about six notes on the piano, but it produces this epic sound by hitting the same notes in an interesting rhythm, plus I love the imagery in his words “I tried to paint you a picture, the colors were all wrong, black and white didn’t fit you, and all along, you were shaded with patience”
A Little Too Not Over You-David Archuleta – it’s like John Mayer’s “Back to You” accept “Back to You” its a better song in my opinion. However, its one of those songs that struck an emotional chord that resonates in all of us at some time or another.
Touch My Hand- David Archuleta – Simple Driving Piano and Percussion- the formula is simple. . .plus, it’s about taking chances on a relationship “Try to reach out to you touch my hand, reach out as far as you can, only me, only you and the band. Can’t let the music stop, can’t let this feeling end, cause if I do it will all be over I’ll never see you again.” I’m not a very big risk taker when it comes to girls and relationships. Somehow, I’ve convinced one of my roommates that I’m a “Pimp”. Granted I’m not a fan of the word “Pimp”- because it doesn’t describe me and it implies a horrible use of women. Stepping off my moral soapbox, I think it’s funny because I’m still the same. . .I’m what one of my companions defined as “the best friend guy”. I still seek lots of girl friendships.
Time After Time-Quietdrive (not Cindy Lauper)- It’s interesting to think that Cindy Lauper produced several fairly big hits seeing as I think she has such a weird voice. . .but I asked the same thing about Modest Mouse and this one other song on the radio called Paper Planes by M.I.A. (I just looked it up so I could find the name, and as I took a little time to get past the wierdness of her voice, I realized it not only sounds strange, but also is in the least not very uplifting.) Enough for long side notes. I love this cover. I think it better conveys the emotional complexities (those two words are academic fluff!)
Learning to Fall-Boys like Girls- this is definitely the most recent addition to my top ten list. With just the title ideas emerge like “Falling with Style”, “Losing Gracefully” etc.

Some Favorite Quotes as of Late

Hitch: Basic Principles - no woman wakes up saying "God, I hope I don't get swept off my feet today!" Now, she might say "This is a really bad time for me," or something like "I just need some space," or my personal favorite "I'm really into my career right now." You believe that? Neither does she. You know why? 'Cause she's lying to you, that's why. You understand me? Lying! It's not a bad time for her. She doesn't need any space. And she may be into her career, but what she's really saying is "Uh, get away from me now," or possibly "Try harder, stupid," but which one is it? 60% of all human communication is nonverbal, body language; 30% is your tone, so that means 90% of what you're saying ain't coming out of your mouth. Of course she's going to lie to you! She's a nice person! She doesn't want to hurt your feelings! What else she going to say? She doesn't even know you... yet. Luckily, the fact is that just like the rest of us, even a beautiful woman doesn't know what she wants until she sees it, and that's where I come in. My job is to open her eyes. Basic Principles - no matter what, no matter when, no matter who... any man has a chance to sweep any woman off her feet; he just needs the right broom.

**I watched Hitch again recently. Will Smith is one of my favorite actors by far. Not only is he a very talented individual, but I’ve never heard anything bad about him. That impresses me.
I like Hitch, simply because it gives me such confidence. Come on, if Albert can win over the heart of Ms. Alegra Cole, then what guy can’t sweep a girl off her feet? Ha ha . ..reality is a little more complicated, but there are some very poignant truths. Like, the whole part about women lying . .. It sure is refreshing when we say what we really mean rather than burying it in our half truths for the sake of politeness. Granted, its a reflection of our society and our more closed culture. It’s a method of not stepping on each other’s toes. Kind of like we prefer to remain oblivious to our neighbors because we don’t want them to think us weird or a bother. Ha!
Realizing that writing can come off different, I’m kind of laughing at things, fully conscientious of the many times I conform to the same societal standards of attitudes and responses.

“Now it’s too late for you and your white horse to come around.”-Taylor Swift

**I’m glad that she stands up and doesn’t let the chivalrous guy back into her life!

The Editor,
Mark