My Sick Mind

We're a spoiled bunch. We have more technology than we can understand and require more to keep us busy and entertain us than our parents - or even us when we were young. We need Kindle readers, Wii game consoles, laptop computers, iPad's, iPhones and other "i" devices that focus the pleasure on the I and not so much the us. It's all about you ... er ... I. Such wasn't the case a generation ago, when magazines, radio and television seemed to keep us entertained. Were we happy with that or were we waiting around for something more stimulating? TV and magazines were gateway drugs to the entertainment industry, and now we need a bigger fix, but at what cost? It is certainly expensive to keep us entertained, and I suppose part of the expense is the stimulation that we're supposed to get from all those fancy devices. I'm not sure the expense always lives up to the hype. All those fancy apps that we keep hearing about aren't free, you know. B...

When life deals lemons, one makes lemonade - or so I've heard. One way to make lemonade is to find the lemons and start squeezing. When my friend and I go to Dave Matthews Band shows, she likes to stalk the hotel where they stay. It's pretty easy to stand around and grab an autograph or five, and she has become somewhat of an expert. My job is to stand around and take her photo with the band members. This year, I pledged to become the subject myself, and I was fortunate enough to be around when two of the guys stopped to greet the fans on their way into the hotel. Dave showed up for a bit, but rushed through the autograph line before most of us could snap a photo. Two members of the band hung around long enough for me to pass my camera to my friend to get her to take a couple of snapshots. Me and DMB drummer Carter Beauford. Me and DMB bassist Stefan Lessard. The big fountain at Logan Circle, lit up just before midnight. At this point, I'm on a photographer's high...

I have a full refrigerator . There's something comforting in that, psychologically speaking. When you get right down to it, I'm satisfied by mundane things. A couple of bucks in my pocket, a healthy cat, some food and a job. It doesn't take much more than that. I've never been much of a thrill-seeker. I don't get the urge to have sex with last-call hookers or jump out of airplanes. I can find enough thrills in the little things, which is why I don't understand the kinds of hobbies that men find themselves drawn to. Jet skis, sky diving and the All-Terrain-Vehicles are huge indulgent wastes of money to me. If I had that much money to piss away I could find a lot better ways to piss it than to buy something that is (a) maintenance intensive and (b) potentially life-risking. That said, when someone kills themselves doing one of these things it makes me sad because to me it is avoidable. One of my little pleasures is the thrill of live music. I enjoy concerts and...