Venture Brothers is about failure? Fantastic!

So change of pace.. sorta.  Ok not really my precious little internet gnomes.  Having just re-watched the first 4 seasons of the Venture Brothers show, and listened to DVD commentary, and the missing commentary, I find my love of the show deepening.  For those who haven't seen it yet... wtf?  Really?  Go watch you some.  I know that they put it on odd hours, dont re-air them often, and its not on Netflix, or Hulu but still.  You have internet, find a way. (insert comment about you being lazy bastards here)

Bringing it back to my love of the show.  In the "lost commentary" for the Season 1 episode "Home Insecurity," Jackson Public and Doc Hammer talk about how the show is really about failure.  How we all fail.  It's ok to fail, and move forward.  They also talk about how its really the 'failure of the space age, and the death of the jet age promises.'  Hearing that seamed obvious to anyone who's seen the show.  But it still stuck with me awhile.

Later I find myself watching Niel deGrasse Tyson talking about funding space exploration, and building a culture of high aspirations.   Click.  The two are entwined.  The promise of the space age failed to come to life because we stopped reaching out to space.  Yes, in many ways we have changed our daily lives in ways impossible to predict at the time.  I for one wouldn't trade the vast digital revolution for jet packs and flying cars.  That's just me though. 

But back to the how ok at failing works.  I have met, and worked with many people who are "perfect."  You know, never make a mistake.  Or it wasn't theirs in the first place, it was because of A,B, and C.  I used to be one of those total ass hats.  In alot of ways I still am.  I did learn however, that being able to let yourself fail, and acknowledging the failure is a great way to grow.  It frees me up to try other ways of doing things, lets me learn from what works and what doesn't.  Mostly though, it lets me learn what the root mistake was so I can learn from it.  We all could use more honest failures, because if we are honest we all want to be flying that jet pack in space... cowboys and cowgirls.

Musical Musings

I am sitting here with a cold beer, again.  Having just got out of the car, last song on the radio still swimming in my head.  Which of course has me thinking now.  I can't stop wondering what makes a song have that lasting impact on me. The more I stop and think about it, the more confused I get.  Each song hits me in a unique way, for an individual reason.  There is no general rule of thumb that I am seeing.

For example, the song that got me thinking about this topic.  It was the last song I head, "No Light No Light" by Florence and the Machine.  Not my usual cup of tea, but as the song played and the lyrics sunk in, I had flash backs.  Memories of the ugliest break up of mine.  Words from the song echoing words she had said to me at the time.  Still shaking a bit to be painfully honest with you internet gnomes.

Just as easily as my lack of light hits me there are other songs I think of.  Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt for one.  A song that haunts, taking a song about being trapped in drug addiction, and making it a song about growing old and alone.  Cracker's Low, because it transports me to a time and place that my old coworkers can still remember too.  The song got stuck in my head for a few months, and so those months on the line at the restaurant always pop in for a short 3 minute visit when that plays.

I wish I knew the formula.  It could save me from having my life shaped by inescapable bad songs, such as "All around the world" by ATC.   Also then I could write one, and get filthy, dirty, shamefully rich off of it.  Ok, I'd get someone else rich because I wouldn't know what to do with it.

I lost my thread of thought here somewhere, and I am out of beer.... so that's all for now.