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“Shell Games” – New Huffington Post Blog by Jon
I don’t want to play it’s a shell game Conor Oberst “Shell Games” was one of my favorite tunes off of The People’s Key. It was a title that meant very little to me until I lost almost everything in my wallet to a shell game I played last month in Berlin. Yes, to my shame [...]
This Is What Luck Smells Like – New Huffington Post Blog
I’m in seat 40G on a flight from Heathrow to LAX. After a couple weeks of playing rock and roll in Europe this long period of forced silence is a welcome change. International flights have become a meditation of sorts for me. Solitude. Breathing. Thinking. Forced air. Prayer. My tray table becomes a sacred temple among the transatlantic congregation — complete with the plastic sacrament of holy bottled water.
Outside the Fences
Taken from The Huffington Post Guilty Pleasures: the phrase alone implies a form of aesthetic righteousness. Your personal preferences (unique and subjective by definition), are kept in line by a higher standard of objective good (as defined by the community). The experts have agreed upon art that is right and superior. And in spite of [...]
The Economy of the Garden – Part 2
Taken from The Huffington Post Watermelons want to rule the world — at least the two that we planted in our backyard. They took a long time to get started. For a while, they looked almost dead and we wondered whether they were going to make it, but gradually, the two watermelon vines began to [...]
Replay: My Standoff With Florida Police
Taken from The Huffington Post When I’m on tour, I try not to think about home too much. I write songs, write things for the Huffington Post, and watch a lot of Sports Center. Lately, ESPN has been running segments on whether instant replay should be used in MLB games. Blown calls like the one that [...]
The Economy of the Garden — Part One
Taken from The Huffington Post My wife and I planted a garden this year. This tiny patch of dirt has become a space where small miracles occur daily. The slow and steady growth of the garden contradicts almost everything about our fast-paced world. The constant rush of the freeway traffic nearby seems to grumble in disagreement [...]
Q: What is the difference Between a Turkey and a Man Imitating a Turkey?
Taken from The Huffington Post Q: What is the difference between a turkey and a man imitating a turkey? A: Only a couple of minutes: a turkey never breaks character. I am in the Tokyo Narita airport on a nine hour layover. I should be counting sheep. But alas, I am pondering the turkey. And in [...]
The Living Blues: John M. Perkins
Taken from The Huffington Post Last week we arrived in Trnava, Slovakia, and played rock and roll in the town square; it’s the easternmost point in Europe that we’ve ever played. There’s a watchtower in the square that overlooks the stage. It’s been there for generations, watching armies come and go — the Mongols, the Turks, [...]
The Dark Horse: Joan of Arc, Elliot Smith and Me
Taken from The Huffington Post My friend Andy and I are eating Grasshoppers on the tour bus talking about our favorite 15th century heroine, one of the darkest horses in all of history: Joan of Arc. It’s much less exotic than it sounds. Apparently Grasshoppers are now trademarked by Nabisco; they taste and look and taste [...]
Possessed by Truth
Taken from The Huffington Post I am in seat 23 E on a flight from San Diego to Dallas. It’s a middle seat. I’m trying to remain composed and tranquil; I am failing. As far as I can tell the baby behind me feels about the same way I do. I thumb through the airline magazine [...]