Some Things Are Too Hot to Touch, The Human Mind Can Only Stand So Much

It's been a bit heavy 'round these parts lately, and I think I've set a record for the most consecutive days with a military-related photograph, so on this beautiful Friday in late April, I'm giving you something that brings me a great deal of happiness.

When people ask me about my favorite band, I often feel as though I'm forced to promote Phish like a doctoral student conducting a thesis defense in front of a panel of experts. In the end, the music can be long, it can be rambling, and it can certainly be maddening. But when Phish hit the right portion of the jam on a song like "Down With Disease", it makes all of the minutes spent listening prior to that moment worth it.

Here's some instructions:

1. Watch the video embedded above of "Down With Disease" from Phish's recent reunion show on March 8 in Hampton, VA.
2. Click the HD button on the video for the proper effect.
3. Listen to all 10 minutes and 1 seconds of the above video.

If you complete steps 1 through 3 and still want to tell me you could never understand how I could enjoy Phish, I understand.

If not, well, I guess we have what the Captain in Cool Hand Luke might call "a failure to communicate."

Where the Light Is

Congratulations to Mrs. Ashley Tuggle for correctly naming "Louisiana Bayou" by Dave Matthews Band as the Thursday Song of the Day.

I'm pretty sure Ashley and Kalum now qualify as the first ever married couple to win the Song of the Day contest on consecutive days. Quite an honor, folks. Quite an honor.

As everyone now knows, ol' Cool Hand Luke has passed on to the great chain-gang in the sky, but he left us with some nuggets of wisdom.

Here's my personal favorite, drawn from today's piece in the NY Times:

In an industry in which long marriages might be defined as those that last beyond the first year and the first infidelity, Mr. Newman and Ms. Woodward’s was striking for its endurance. But they admitted that it was often turbulent. She loved opera and ballet. He liked playing practical jokes and racing cars. But as Mr. Newman told Playboy magazine, in an often-repeated quotation about marital fidelity, “I have steak at home; why go out for hamburger?”

It's not often that a man is able to gain fame as an actor, race-car driver, and salad dressing magnate. Mr. Newman, on behalf of everyone here at Running Down a Dream, rest in peace. I'm pouring out a bottle of Newman's Own Honey Mustard as we speak.