You know how sometimes you can be in love with the idea of something but not take any action on it?

That’s how I’ve been about gardening for a long time.

I live in a rental property, so outdoor gardening isn’t permitted. I could do it indoors except that we’re not allowed to drill holes for things like shelves or hanging planters, and the two cats pretty much prohibit having plant life any lower than head height.

But last month I heard about San Francisco ’s Kitchen Garden Project, which inspired me to rethink things. I realized that I could set up a free-standing shelf unit on our minuscule front porch. So I did that, and then I went to Hayes Valley Farm on 10/10/10 (the day of the initiative) to pick up my free seedlings and mulch.

One month later, here’s some of what’s growing so far!

I’m hoping, in particular, that the broccoli and the carrots make it to their full growth. The broc because it’s my favorite vegetable (well, okay, other than potatoes—preferably in chip form), and the carrots because they’re a tiny, round variety and I’m really curious to see what they look like! I promise I’ll post pictures of whatever grows.

Have you ever heard of Kickstarter? It’s an awesome website through which people and organizations can raise funds for their creative initiatives—they set a goal and write a web page about it, and then try to get enough pledges to fund the project. If they don’t make their goal, no money changes hands, but if they do, they can make some amazing things happen.

Yesterday I found out that Hayes Valley Farm, the volunteer-operated community farm where I got my free garden starter kit (and which, incidentally, is located on top of a closed freeway on/off ramp—the ultimate in recycling, how cool is that?) has only until Sunday to raise the money it needs to fund its continuing projects. As of this writing, they’re almost there!

If you’d like to check it out and maybe even pitch in a bit (if they go overtheir requested amount they get to keep that, too), here’s a link to their Kickstarter page. And here’s one to the farm itself. Where it’s highly likely I’ll be going back to volunteer and learn some more.

Meanwhile, I’m proud of myself. In years past, I would have felt the need to check out at least 3-4 books from the library on home gardening, study up on our local soil and weather patterns, do complex calculus to determine what pot size I’d need for each vegetable, create a detailed shopping list for the plants and supplies, etc., etc. before feeling confident enough to begin.

I love the fact that I was able to let go of the need to be “perfectly” informed and ready, and just wing it. It’s a liberating feeling, even for so small a project.

I don’t know what will finally emerge from all my pots, but it feels great—empowering yet tender at the same time—to nurture along some green, growing things. And if I’m lucky, I’ll get to eat at least some of them. When they hopefully will be tender.

Turns out it really is possible to do things and have them work out (well, at least so far) without having a grand plan!

Hey there!

Just a quick note to let you know that I’m being featured this week on Round 3 of Abubakar Jamil’s “Personal Development Face-Off Series” on his blog Rebooting Your Mind. Evan (my face-off partner) and I answered seven questions on the topic of Humans/Humanity.

This is a cool and generous thing that Abubakar is doing to give some exposure to fellow personal development bloggers. I had no idea who I’d be matched up with or which week I’d be featured, but I just got word that Evan of Living Authentically and I have our turn this week.

The direct link, if you’d like to check it out, is here. At the bottom of our answers, you can also vote for your favorite.

Personal Development Face-Off: Round 3

Evan was definitely briefer than me…concision has never been my strong suit. Heh. But I like his answers a lot.

Oh, and if you decide to cast your vote, please don’t just choose me automatically–pick the set of answers you really do like best! This is all in good fun.

I’m going out into left field today to do something I haven’t done before here on PMI. I’m reviewing an album.

I could try to force-fit it to the blog’s “overcoming perfectionism” theme by saying something like, “Look! It might not be 100% perfect in every possible way, but that didn’t stop the artist from releasing it anyway! Bravo!”

Except that I’d never write something so terribly cheesy. Aren’t you glad?

I’ve been a huge Peter Gabriel fan for a very long time. And if you know anything about how the man works musically, it’s a very collaborative process. For many years, one of his primary collaborators has been David Rhodes, known mainly as the band’s guitar player.

But to the discerning ear and long-time fan, David has always been much more than that. He has offered his strong vocals, mature musical sensibilities, deft technique, and thoughtful songwriting skills to Gabriel’s recording and touring operations for well over two decades now.

Bittersweet, David Rhodes’s first solo album (not to mention his current tour—more on that later), proves beyond a doubt that he can hold his own under the main spotlight as well.

Folks, this is a damn good album.

 It starts quietly with “Reality Slips,” a deceptively gentle opener which showcases the raw clarity of David’s voice, a lovely surprise after hearing him in the background for so many years. The song gradually builds in drive and density, and just when you think the guitar is fading out at the end, it turns instead to a melodic, then searingly gritty solo. Now that’s the way to start an album.

Next is “Down by the River,” one of the sweetest-sounding songs about a certain rather depressing subject I’ve ever heard. Dominated by David’s very forward-in-the-mix vocals, the simplicity of the melody lets the listener become caught up in the flow (river pun absolutely intended) of the narrative.

“Just Two People” starts out with a guitar sound as fuzzy as a pair of dice tossed over the rearview mirror. The entire song is a great example of the way David uses his guitar like a paintbrush, knowing exactly where to stipple in some subtle sounds, where to lay down a straight melodic line, where to spread a rough wash of power, and—most importantly—how to blend all these effects into a harmonious whole.

“Crazy Jane” is sheer delight, from the gently chugging rhythm to its delicate melodic flourishes to the vivid character of Jane herself and the singer’s relationship with her. (“I want to see her again, I want to make daisy chains.”) This exquisite little gem would be my pick for a first single from the album.

My own favorite song (as of this writing) is the straight-ahead yet perfectly understated rocker, “All I Know.” Why? Two words—the grit and the groove. Mmmm!

Anyone remember album sides?

This is where I’d say that Side 2 begins if such a statement still had any meaning. Hah. Does that make me officially old now?

“If It Could Only Be That Easy” has a slip-slidy tempo that meshes with the plaintive vocals to create a wistful and evocative mood piece.

Then comes “Monster Monster,” which is, I’ve got to admit, my least favorite song on the album. Just my personal taste—it’s psychological self-exploration (which I like), cast into the metaphor of a children’s tale (which is what doesn’t really grab me). Musically speaking, though, it’s a fine song, with a slinky beat and some devilishly clever and alliterative lyrics.

The intro to “There’s a Fine Line” establishes an appealing, slightly off-kilter rhythm and kicks off a bouncy-sounding song addressed to someone who’s having a bit of a hard time with life. The poignant lyrics (“You don’t smile anymore, you don’t joke anymore, you look broken and sad”) and bright, up-tempo melody make for an interesting contrast. I adore the vocal harmonies in the chorus—they hit my nerves with the same kind of delicious pleasure/pain tingle of fingernails scraped gently down the back.

“One Touch”  is a smoldering, intense love (or maybe lust?) song, plain and simple. I love the way the tension builds during the restraint of the rhythmic guitar in the verses but finds its release during the chorus.

But I don’t have to tell you about this song—I can show you. The album version is much more fully fleshed out instrumentally, because here it’s just David and his guitar on stage (if you watch carefully, you’ll see that the “offstage” rhythm guitar is a part he records, then sets to loop in the background as he plays another part over it). But check out this video from the European leg of David’s tour earlier this year:

Bonus Video! One Touch

The album closes with its title track, “Bittersweet.” It’s an instant mood-changer (think the late-night languor of a piano lounge, but with much more intimacy), and its deeply introspective lyrics tenderly bring the album to a sense of emotional completion, right down to the final soft “wah” of the guitar.

David is currently opening for Cyndi Lauper on her “Memphis Blues” tour, and you can find the list of tour dates (and a great deal more about David, while you’re at it) at All Things David Rhodes.org. (Note that there is also a link from the news page to Cyndi Lauper’s official site, in case of any changes.)

Oh, and the album itself? I got my copy of Bittersweet through the German branch of Amazon, because it hadn’t yet been released in the U.S. You can preview (prelisten?) to snippets of each song there, too.

But the good news is that it has just been released on iTunes. It’s also available through Care Music, where you can also get the album art.

(Incidentally, none of these are affiliate links—I’m a fan, plain and simple.)

Bittersweet is a fantastic album that deserves as wide an audience as it can get. It’s a fresh solo debut made all the more wonderful by the fact that it’s from a seasoned musician with many solid years of song-crafting under his guitar strap.

That craft shows plainly, and it is a very fine thing to hear.

And now for something completely different.

For the past several days, just half a block from my Bill-Paying Job in San Francisco’s downtown Financial District, a small blackbird has achieved international fame by persecuting pedestrians and entertaining onlookers. Swoops, as the bird has been affectionately named, is simply protecting his newborn chicks. It is a perfect collision–literally–of the natural world, technology, and our human desire to connect and share with each other.

Feathered defender of your nest, meet the Internet.

My roommate and I stopped to watch on our way to the BART station after work today. Sure enough, there was Swoops, vigorously living up to his moniker. People were taking pictures with their cell phones. Some even had small video cameras. We watched for several minutes, along with the small yet ever-changing crowd which now congregates at SGZ (Swoops Ground Zero), then grinned at each other and headed for the subway after a close call when Swoops briefly zoomed over to our (opposite!) side of the street.

I didn’t realize until I got home to check YouTube that our neighborhood dive-bomber had become internationally famous. He even has his own dedicated blog.

In fact, should you find yourself in the Bay Area and wish to stop by Front Street between California and Sacramento to see the show (for however long it lasts–apparently these chicks will soon leave their doting parent with a case of Empty Nest Syndrome), Swoops’s dedicated fans at the Chronicle have even provided some handy suggestions on the proper Attack Bird Viewing Etiquette and Best Practices. (No, I’m not kidding. Click on it–you know you want to.)

Nothing profound here . . . or maybe I’m just too tired to come up with any profundity tonight. I simply wanted to share a perfect little San Francisco oddity which is quite literally happening around the corner from me.

Signing off,

A Swoops Fan