Tom Morello

Thanks to the wonders of Youtube, I recently witnessed a performance of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (quick Steinbeck reference there) from a 2008 Bruce Springsteen concert with Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave/The Nightwatchman. I've been a HUGE Springsteen fan for over 30 years, undoubtedly he's my favorite artist but to term Morello as "sitting in" would be an injustice. Tom drove this performance to new heights, his passion, with both guitar and voice have left an indelible impression on me. This was my first true exposure to Tom Morello, for some reason his work, both musically and morally flew completely off my radar. Suffice it to say, we're locked in now.

Where did the time go?

Damn, it's been almost 4 months since my last post...I blame my job, sucks up to friggin much time and energy. It also provides creature comforts for me and the rest of the Black Dog Adventure Team as well as a convenient excuse for not writing.

Anyone who knows me, knows the regard in which I hold John Steinbeck, both the works and the man. Ever since reading an excerpt of The Red Pony in a school textbook as a young kid, I've been hooked. That small snippet steered me onto a journey that's lasted close to 40 years, even my honeymoon led me to the the central coast of California, site of much of Steinbeck's works.

Without a doubt, my favorite work of Steinbeck's and quite honestly a book I've grown to love more than anything I've ever read is Travels With Charley: In Search of America. The book, one of Steinbeck's few works of non-fiction, chronicles a trip the author took with his standard poodle Charley, starting from Long Island, NY and basically traversed the entire perimeter of the country in a pick-up truck mounted camper. Steinbeck's observations and reflections on the American condition in 1960 still ring fresh and true, almost 50 years later. If you've never read it, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Pictured here, Rocinante, Steinbeck and Charley's home for 3 months and over 10,000 miles.