Art Baker played this often-covered reggae song – Johnny Too Bad – on Jamaican Gold on Sunday and I’ve had it in my head ever since. Yesterday I listened to various versions of it all afternoon, so last night I recorded my version. It seems to be written by Crooks and Wilson of The Slickers. I know it from The Harder They Come soundtrack.

For the coverband. Total inspiration. Now I need another one.

Reading Reality Is Broken by Jane McGonigal I learned about SuperBetter, a game she created to help recover from a concussion. But it can be applied to any condition.

The book has me very interested in playing the right games to both make progress and have fun with life’s struggles. SuperBetter is a perfect example so I’m going to try to make a game I can win out of some of my chronic conditions.

I’m either going to kill myself, or I’m going to turn this into a game.

Mission #1: Create your SuperBetter secret identity. You’re the hero of this adventure. And you can be anyone you want, from any story you love. So pick your favorite story – anything from James Bond to Gossip Girl, Twilight to Harry Potter, Batman to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Mission #2: Recruit your allies. Every superhero has an inner circle of friends who help save the day. Pick the people you want to count on most, and invite them to play this game with you. Ask each one to play a specific part: Batman needs a Robin and an Alfred. Give each ally a specific mission, related to their character. Use your imagination – and feel free to ask for anything you need! When you’re saving the world, you can’t be shy about asking for help. Be sure to ask at least one ally to give you daily or weekly achievements – these are surprise accomplishments they bestow upon you based on your latest superheroic activities.

Mission #3: Find the bad guys. To win this battle, you need to know what you’re up against. Pay attention all day to anything that makes you feel worse, and put it on your bad guys list. Some days, you’ll be able to battle the bad guys longer – some days not so long. But most importantly: every time you do battle, you’ll want to make a great escape. That means getting away from the bad guy before he knocks you flat.

You can always add more bad guys to your list as you discover them – and if you vanquish one forever, you can take it off and claim the permanent victory.

The better you can identify triggers of your symptoms, the more pain and suffering you’ll avoid. And making a great escape turns a potential moment of failure – something is harder than it should be, or I can’t do something I want to do – into a moment of triumph: I succeeded in recognizing a trigger and vanquished it before it did too much damage.

Mission #4: Identify your power-ups. Good thing you’ve got superpowers. Maybe they’re not your typical superpowers – but you definitely have fun or important things you can do for yourself at a moment’s notice to feel better. Make a list, and be ready to call on them whenever the bad guys are getting the better of you. In fact, try to collect as many power-ups as you can every day!

As you play, be sure to do follow these three rules:

1. Near the end of the every day, hold a secret meeting with one of your allies. Add up your great escapes, your power-ups, and your superhero points.

2. Talk to your other allies as often as possible, and tell them what you’ve been doing to get superbetter. Ask them for ideas about new things to add to your to-do list.

3. Be sure you have at least one ally who is giving you daily achievements. Share these achievements with your friends online, using Twitter or Facebook status updates, to keep them posted on your progress.

Here is a sketch and song for Brigham, the 1.5 yr old grandson of my cousin Carolyn.

Briggsie-Briggsie2.mp3

Brigham, Brigham, doin little num nums
Sweet little tum tum fingers and toes
Brigham Brigham, grippin with your thumb thumb
Cute patuti bum bum we love so

Briggsie, Briggsie, eat you like a figsie
You mommy and you daddy love you so bigsie
Briggsie Briggsie, you squeaky little pigsie
You’re jiggin we’re a diggin, oh we’re wiggin out

Briggles, Briggles, tickles and a wiggles
Blowin on your belly and kissin your hair
Wriggles and jiggles, give anything for giggles
Your laughter is a heaven and your breath is a prayer

Mommy and Daddy, Jaylyn and Teddy,
Love you so steady, simple and pure
Love you, love you, never enough of you
Sleep my little fiddle we’ll awaken to more

We played Skinny’s Ballroom last night opening for Thomas Champagne. Here are some pics.

Today is New Year’s eve 2011 and I found these resolutions of Woody’s last week. I love New Year’s resolutions and Woody, and as always he puts it perfectly, plain and simple.

1. Work more and better
2. Work by a schedule
3. Wash teeth if any
4. Shave
5. Take bath
6. Eat good — fruit — vegetables — milk
7. Drink very scant if any
8. Write a song a day
9. Wear clean clothes — look good
10. Shine shoes
11. Change socks
12. Change bed cloths often
13. Read lots good books
14. Listen to radio a lot
15. Learn people better
16. Keep rancho clean
17. Dont get lonesome
18. Stay glad
19. Keep hoping machine running
20. Dream good
21. Bank all extra money
22. Save dough
23. Have company but dont waste time
24. Send Mary and kids money
25. Play and sing good
26. Dance better
27. Help win war — beat fascism
28. Love mama
29. Love papa
30. Love Pete
31. Love everybody
32. Make up your mind
33. Wake up and fight

Today brother Pete called to see if I had a copy of the Woody Guthrie quote that he read at our wedding. We talked on the phone and he told me how to find it on the web, so I thought I better record it here as a good reminder.

For me to bless your married life is like a cowboy trying to bless the sky. It is perfectly hung, perfectly balanced and perfectly blessed. Marriage is something bigger and greater than you or me and it is as durable as the sky which always remains clear and endless in spite of the clouds or planets that whirl and spin there. And since love is as endless and empty as the clear blue eternal sky, all of my blessings whether written or spoken or prayed would Fall short and not be Complete. But l ask you to look many days and many nights into that empty blue above your head, and I wish that same peace and that same power and that same balance and that same freedom, that same wealth, that same health, that same harmony and that same quietness and that same love in life that is birthless and deathless; I wish you nothing else. On the day of your marriage, in the season of your awakening, in the year of your new birth, in the land of your people . . . Woody Guthrie, Mary, all the children and all your friends.

Check out all the rad covers Chrysy made! Hers are the spray-paint, mine are the sharpie.

And checkout the animated gif that P made!

Disks being mailed out now y’all!!! Each one custom designed.

See the Facebook event for details and to RSVP.