Waits

Speaking of the tawdry arts

Here’s a nice gallery of naked ladies on bowling pins.[via Raindogs]

Jack’s Christmas post from a homeless shelter made me think about why I like Tom Waits so much:

It really hits home down here how appropriate his name is, too. Tom Waits. Waits for what? For everything. That’s what it’s all about down here. Wait for food. Wait for shelter. Wait for a hot shower or a cold shitter. You wait for everything in this system. It’s not the cold or the brutality that gets you most days, not the hunger or the pain, but the tedious nature of standing in long lines with no promise of getting what yr waiting for at the end of it all…

That gets to it, a little bit. But then there’s adventure. I always crave adventure too. And there’s plenty to be found in the characters of his songs. I’ve been having a bit of a festival of his music, for the first time in a long time. Some of the songs grew too painful, but I’m getting over it now.