The Weblog of Daniel Tashian

This is a great idea, folks. I love this idea. It was started by the Native Americans (who probably took it from the mountain elk?) and it was reprised brilliantly in the movie Lagaan. The premise is this: When diputes arise (over land or religion or other innumerable reasons people disagree and want to fight), the International Dispute Resolution Committee steps in to set the stakes.
It is made up of representatives from every country that wants to be involved, and is open to all.
Then the game is scheduled. The “game” is usually Soccer (the most internationally played game) unless both parties agree that it should be something else. The referees are made up of representatives of both sides. The dispute is resolved when one team wins the best of 5 games. This way, if one team has a bad day, the entire dispute is not lost.
This would be perfect for the situation in Israel and Palestine
We should eliminate weapons, and let the games begin!
Can you imagine the income for networks from advertising revenues during the Israel/Palestine match?
This would be a win/win for everyone involved.
I know this idea sounds far-fetched, but it is really so much more civilized than killing eachother.
The only thing that worries me, is would some person who didn’t want to play, try to sabatoge the event? Security would be an issue.
When disputes broke out over penalties and referee calls, camera replays would then be utilized to insure the accuracy of the call.
There are many details to be worked out, but can’t you see the Republicans and the Democrats battling it out in a Billiards tournament (since they are too old to play anything else)?
I think if I were president, a team would be put together to look into the viability of this.
This is probably why i am not president
Tennis anyone?

I spent an interesting and enjoyable afternoon at WPLN, Nashville Public Radio, performing a ramshackle set of songs old and new on their “Songwriter Sessions” show, which was really cool. I was staring at the piano the entire time, and it looked intimidating to me, but I got up the nerve to play one song on it. Then, Erika, the producer, told me that she liked the way the last chord of the song ended kind of abruptly (like “Bang!”), which was a mistake, but I didn’t tell her that. The other performers on the show were Ari Hestand Jesse Malin. They were both very cool and you should check them out. Jesse told me he thought my song “Johnny Don’t” could be a hit, which was nice. Maybe there’s a paralell universe somewhere, where it already is-Who knows?

Every now and then it happens. I jump on the CNN bandwagon, and I become obsessed with the questions of the moment. This week, the question is definitely “Where’s The Love?” I think we can all agree, the topic is the bad behavior of some of the players on the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons. While all I know is what I’ve read or heard on TV, you can be sure everyone has their own side of the story. But the bottom line remains the same: People just can’t stand it when you punch them in the face! It makes them go crazy! They do things they normally wouldn’t do, and they become temporarily insane; blind with rage, if you will. I am very glad that the punishment that was handed down to Artest and Jackson and O’Neal was strict! It should be!
That’s one of the worst things I have ever seen and these guys need to grow up!
The worst part of all of it, is that kids look up to them so much. The players must not really be thinking about the message they are sending to kids. So there it is. The CNN bandwagon.
I have become obssessed with the national tradgedy of the week.
I wonder if we will look back at this as a kind of turning point.
I hope it will lead us to the topic of the next entry : The International Dispute Resolution Committee!

So fall is finally here. I’ve been busy with a number of projects. Spent the last few days raking leaves and working on strings for the John Nicholson record (produced by Angelo), which was really fun. I felt like a low budget Mancini! Also, The Bees performed a show on WRLTwith David Mead.
This was a blast and hopefully we will get to collaborate again soon. I’ve been working on some new Bees songs as well as new solo material. I’ve just had Marc Pisapia play drums on a song Roger Moutenot and I wrote. I will post it here as soon as it’s finished. On a sadder note, our beloved Honda accord bit the dust last week. May she rest in peace. So today, Leslie and I go to test drive (drum roll please: The Scion! I’ll post a detailed entry on issues like steering, manouverability, gas mileage, interior and exterior design, and overall handling later.
Let’s see, what else…
Oh! I’ve been to see an intersting movie. I HEART HUCKABEES More soon.