Today, I was in desperate need of getting out of the apartment. More than that I wanted to go for a walk. But I didn't want to go to Lady Bird Lake (That's the new name of Austin's Town Lake, which officially goes into effect on August 6th, and is named after the recently departed Lady Bird Johnson). So I went for a drive, out through Bee Caves, out to Hamilton Pool, which turned out to be closed. So I continued driving to Pedernales Falls.

Pedernales Falls is one of many state parks in Texas. I know from all the recent flooding I probably wouldn't be able to swim, but I brought a bathing suit just in case. It was humid, but fairly mild overall. The water at the falls was rushing faster than usual this time of year, but not so bad that you're gonna get swept away. So while you could swim, it was not encouraged.

Wearing good walking shows, I tromped and hopped among the rocks. I saw a couple sun bathing and thought lying out on the rocks in the surrounded by running water sounded nice. So I walked up stream past that couple and saw a nice place to go.

Now, let me explain. I was planning on mostly hiking. So I had my hiking shoes on, and I was listening to my iPod, Democracy Now. I had a "Real Men Wear Kilts" tote bag holding a towel, some goggles, and my cell phone. And when I got to this location, I took off my hiking shoes and put on my flip-flops for crossing water. I tied up the laces and threw them over my shoulder along with the tote bag.

I then started hoping a few slabs of stone. In some areas where there was a light cascade of water running between stones, I carefully maneuvered my way across to the next stone to bring myself closer to the center of the river. But I finally came to an area where I couldn't easily hop anywhere. It was about six feet across to the next stone with water running through it.

The water was murky brown from the sediment. So I couldn't see the bottom. But unless I wanted to run and jump... I could see myself trying, then slipping with my iPod slamming broken onto the rock and falling face first into the stone as well, blood gushing from my broken teeth and nose. Yeah, not so appealing.

That meant I had to wade. The water wasn't rushing too fast, so I felt safe I wouldn't get swept down stream. I put my first sandled foot into the water. It was about a foot deep. So I felt a little reassured and felt around for the next step, more rock and maybe six inches deeper. With that I was a third of the way through. Not too shabby.

I must've gotten too cocky, because I took another step and fwuump! I dropped two feet. The water was now at my chest. My iPod was held high and I was able to keep the tote from getting wet, but one show dangled in the water. I would've just thrown it all to the other side, being halfway through the divide. The problem was my left flip-flop.

Because of the awkward step, the flip-flip that had partially come off my foot. I didn't want to lose it. And I didn't want to ruin an iPod or a cellphone either. So I stood there a minute against the waters wondering what the hell I should do. And there up stream was a woman laughing at my comical predicament. No doubt more intrigued by this than the latest Soap Opera.

After trying to maneuver to get the zoree correctly back on my foot without success, I decided to save the rest of my stuff. I was able to easily toss my tote bag and my shoes onto land. That left just the iPod. With one ear bud now dangling in the water, I felt a little bit more confident about lifting my left leg to grab the precarious sandal. I got it!

Then I took another step forward, tossed the iPod on the soft tote and climbed up to the other side. A few more stones further and I found a place to lie down under the cloudy sky to attempt to dry my drenched body.

Thirty minutes later, it started raining. Thinking that'd really suck if the water picked up and I was stranded out on those rocks, I decided to head out of there.

I have to say. For as much as I daze I was in going out there. As much as I had no intent of getting drenched in sedimenty water while visiting the park, it was a wonderful experience. And no doubt a memorable one too. Not saying there's room on my CD, but that experience too seems like a perfect tribute, no matter how quirky, to love.

Do you ever do something that you kinda wish you hadn't done?

Worse. Have you ever had a recording of that thing you wish you hadn't done?

Worse still. Have you ever shared that recording of that thing you wish you hadn't done?

Personally, I somehow think that's the most foolish to do. I mean, why would anyone want to publicly humiliate themselves? Yet, for me... Okay, let me back track a moment and explain.

Last month, the Brobdingnagian Bards led a vacation tour of Ireland. It was awesome. Great sites. Great people on the tour. Our coach driver, Liam, said it best, "You're a like most tour groups. You're fun!"

Now me, I'm a podcaster and archivist. I like recording stuff shows I do and sharing them with others. It's what I do. But I also like to drink. And on occasion, I get kinda wild while drinking. So halfway through the tour while we were holed up in Lisdoonvarna, I and 20 friends went to a pub. I sang, drank, sang some more while everyone else sang, drank, and sang-a-long. It was great craic!

Past couple days, I went back and listened to those recordings. Youch! Sure there was some FUN stuff early on in the evening while I was still sober. But that NC-17 version of "Scarborough Faire"...? I don't think that should be heard. Nor should my foul mouth throughout the end of that show. And the "I Need to Pee" song was just, well, bad.

So it raises that interesting dilemna that I'm trying to figure out. Should I accidentally lose *ahem* delete, those files? Or hold on to them with the fear I'll be blackmailed in later years. Or should I go ahead and find the good material and just release that. I'm leaning more towards that. Why soil my mediocre name with material that was questionable at best... not to mention the performance of that last hour just, well, stunk.

I know, I know. Those on the tour are like "I WANT IT!" And those who weren't and read this are saying, "GIVE IT TO ME!" But I just don't know...

I mean, if someone else recorded it and wanted to listen to it at their leisure, that's one thing that doesn't really bother me. But when I have the power to protect my image, a sensible person would say, "Yes! Protect it!" But then when have I ever been sensible?

Anyway, when I finally decide, I'll post those live shows here with my others.

"I danced in the morning when the world was begun." I loved that song growing up. But it wasn't until I got on MP3.com a few years back that I heard a great version by Muckle Flugga that renewed my interest of the song. However, it was Pam Owens, aka Mother Pockets who posted the song title, "Lord of the Pounce" that made me want to write a parody for Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. That, ultimately, led to me actually learning the original Irish song. That's when I found out just how well-loved "Lord of the Dance" is as a song. It's amazing to find out that the lyrics were written in the '60s by Sydney Carter. I can only dream to hope that one day I might write a song as beloved.

"Lord of the Dance"
Listen: LoFi
Recorded by Marc Gunn
From: Irish Drinking Songs: A Cat Lover's Companion
Read Lyrics: "Lord of the Dance" Lyrics

Download MP3: 128 kbps
Buy MP3 for 99¢: 192 kbps
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Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License

Wow! I was looking at my calendar, and it was this time last year that I did my last show at Things Celtic. Last time, I had a theme--summery visions. I don't remember what I played though.

This time, I am releasing my... um... third solo CD, Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion. Okay, I'm a little slow since I officially released the album in June. But better late than never, eh?

Sat, August 11, 2007
Things Celtic @ 2PM
1806 W. 35th Street
Austin, TX 78703

Some come out and sing some Irish songs with me!

Yesterday, I was listening to an audio book by Seth Godin. He talked about living the marketing message you want to share. I realized that's probably the reason Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers has done so well. I love cats!

Last night, I was watching a movie and Torre climbed up on little fold out table and stood there like an Egyptian God. He stared off quietly as cats do, looking off into a parallel universe or something.

When he saw me staring, he took a careful moment measuring the distance to the sofa with his eyes. His legs flexed, and he leapt onto the sofa and climbed on my lap. He looked at me to see if I would object. Of course, I didn't. And a couple minutes later, he circled and lay down quietly to nap.

I love when cats do that. I love the way they love. It's so different and yet similar to the way we humans love. My cats are extremely loving and faithful to me. They know their daddy and show it all the time. Sure, sometimes it's a bit stand-offish, but that's just the nature of the cat. If you try petting him when he doesn't want a petting, he shakes you off and walks away. Torre hates it when I kiss him on the forehead. Sometimes he bares it. Sometimes he struggles away. But he's always back with more love to give and share.

That's the amazing thing about love. I'm working on a CD called "A Tribute to Love". Admittedly, I'm far from an expert. I am single, after all. But I do know that love is two-way even if I can't always adequately balance it.

In order to receive love, you need to give it.

But too often our pride gets in the way. We let it hinder our ability to receive by not giving it to others. It works in many arenas too. That's one of the reasons I try to help indie bands so much. It's to receive that feeling of respect that I so greatly desire too. Love is the same way. You have to give it to receive it.

I was thinking about this as I was driving home listening to that Seth Godin audio book, thinking about it in terms of my Love CD. I don't just want to release another CD. This feels like it should be something different. The album is mixture of love songs. Some are traditional Celtic, but most are original songs that I've written over there years that express different aspects of love that I've experienced.

Yesterday, I was thinking about even raising the price on this CD while donating a significant portion to a loving charity. I've thought about limiting the release to only people of a certain loving disposition who want to love and be loved. But I'm not sure either of those things really get to the heart of what I want.

I want something that shares my love with others. I want something that you can share with people you love. I want to hear hearts beat rapidly throughout the world, all in the name of love.

Maybe it's a little hopeful since I still need finish recording and mix the album. Maybe it's too big a dream to expect from one little album, but love is important in life. And with any luck, I hope to bring a little bit more into the world.

Vicrtorian writers often assumed that stone market crosses in many villages in the British Isles were replacements for the original wooden crosses erected by saints and priests in the early days of Christianity. But in the early 20th century a man named John Irwin pointed out that as early amateur archaeologists began exploring the remoter parts of Britain they found sculpted stones with more obviously pre-Christian markings and clearly phallic shapes. Some of the local people even maintained customs that were associated with these stones.

Unfortunately, some of these Victorians, coming on objects which they found too embarrassing for a 19th century audience, seem to have quietly broke, or buried some of these objects. The phallic-shaped Clackmannan Stone, located east of Stirling, is one of the few to have survived, and stands a short distance from a later market cross. Another stone, the Longholm Mercat (market cross) was unearthed by road construction crew, and is again, a shaft with a knob on the top. It was found to have a cross inscribed in it?s top which is believed to be a later addition.

These more phallic stones are suggested to have been the early inspiration for many later market crosses in the form of a tall shaft with a ball or knob at the top. Although they are not actually cross-shaped, these have come to be called market crosses as a generic term since many had crosses as additional decorations on the top, and since they have been used for similar community purposes as actual cross-shaped monuments in villages and towns. The symbolism behind these monuments is often said to be that of the world axis -the link between heaven and earth. The ball or sphere at the top may represent heaven, the spiritual state, or even the sun. The shaft is the world-axis or bridge between heaven and earth and the common square base represents the earth.

More on these monuments and some of the symbols associated with them next month.

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The Celtic Croft & MacGregor Historic Games

And if you like Irish music, check out the Brobdingnagian Bards new CD, The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs, my new CD Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion, or Victims of Irish Music. And if you're ready for more St. Patrick's Day music, check the link.

"Soul of a Harper" was a song written by my friend, and fantasy author, Rie Sheridan. She wrote it for me several years ago. I liked the lyrics so much I named my first CD after the song--Soul of a Harper. And then a couple years later, Andrew and I recorded the song for Brobdingnagian Fairy Tales.

A few weeks ago, Andrew and I had finished a show. I wanted to play in a session. So we walked through Lisdoonvarna, Ireland and found the Roadside Tavern. No music was happening that night. So I asked if they would mind if 20+ people came in and sang Irish songs. They were all over it.

So gathered in the back room, and I started playing music. And EVERYONE started singing along. It was a beautiful thing. Then when someone requested "Soul of a Harper", I smiled internally, because I thought of Rie who wrote this song for me. And here I was in Ireland AND a score of people KNOW the LYRICS and were singing HER SONG!

I haven't finished messing with the rest of the music that I recorded that night, but today, I made a quick mix of this song with me and everyone singing along. My vocals weren't in the best shape that night, but it's a beautiful thing to hear.

I hope you enjoy it!
Yes, it's now in my Myspace Profile.

Slainte!
-Marc

I got an email yesterday from Dr Demento who said my song, "The Cat Came Back... The Cat's Perspective" will be on the Dr Demento show, July 7th weekend, and he featured "Exclamations" a week or so a go. Woohoo!

All thanks to The FuMP! That's the Funny Music Project to the uninitiated, where you can download free comical songs by comedy musicians. I finally signed up the Bards and myself to the FuMP and we were featured while we were in Europe. Hope to have more FuMPS in the near future too.

And hopefully Lucrezia can find my notebook. My European journal of events and notes. I left it in Italy, and I'm heartbroken. First glance, she didn't find it. It had a new song I wrote about Saffron from Firefly for a competition. Don't think it'll be done in time for the competition now since I don't have the damn lyrics. Grrr...

On another note, I'm listening to my friend Rimbo's CD, Rimbosity. It had a few tracks where I sing. Very different style. More electronica, but awesome CD! Saw it was on iTunes which is what reminded me to listen again.

And I was reminded about it while looking to see that Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion is NOW ON iTUNES as well!
You can save money by ordering it there if you haven't picked up your copy yet.

Umm. What other tangent can I go on?
Guess that's it now. I need to start catching up on stuff.

Yay! I finished it. Just under the wire too.

Today, I finished recording my newest song called, "She Said Her Name Was Saffron". If you missed the entry, the song was written about Saffron, the beautiful and dangerous woman from Firefly's "Our Mrs. Reynolds". Awesome episode! SerenityStuff.com was holding a contest for a song about Saffron and so I wrote the song while in Ireland and fortunately, sang it enough to remember it after I lost my notebook.

The song is now done. You can listen to the MP3 on SoundClick now.

As I was recording the song last night, I thought that maybe since Firefly is a Space Western, maybe I should sing the song with a country accent. Ultimately, I decided I preferred the more ethereal version with my own voice. But for comparison...

She Said Her Name Was Saffron
Listen: LoFi Original version
Listen: LoFi Country version

She Said Her Name Was Saffron
words Marc Gunn, music traditional (tune "May Morning Dew")

I met her on the Outer Rim.
She was a beauty. There's no denial.
We danced around the fire that night.
In the morning, I awoke all smiles.
But when my boat hit atmo,
And she said that we were married.
Twas then I vowed I'd never again
Leave quick when I should tarry.

She said her name was Saffron,
A prize for work done well.
I know we'd done some good works,
But this time we must've excelled.
For her smile it made my legs week
And her breasts they made me weeze
Oh if I was a different man,
Then I'd show her the Real me.

That night I found her in my bunk
Lying naked in my bed.
She gave me the Goodnight Kiss
And I thought that I was dead.
We'd all be but for Inyara...
Oh, I wonder how she knew?
But what I really wish is I could've seen
The kiss between those two.

But that's not the point of this song, right now,
From this lesson I learned too well.
If you take strange women into your bed
You may end up in the Special Hell.
Either pin her down or set her free
Just don't let your plan go South.
If that doesn't work, then follow Jayne's advice,
"Never kiss them on the mouth."

I got an email today from someone in Belgium who showed another bit of synchronicity between cats and drinking in Dutch:

Your own songs are also great and I also love the way Marc has put some new lyrics on traditional songs, about cats. Well, I also love cats and I enjoyed that. Maybe I do not consider it as crazy, because in my language there is a connection between cats and drinking. Believe it or not, but we use the same word to indicate a hangover and ... a tomcat. The word is KATER (pronounce the a a bit like i).

I love finding out stuff like that.

I have a confirmation. I'm playing a gig in Salerno, Italy

Friday, June 22, 2007
Chiostro del Conservatorio "Ave Gratia Plena Minor"
via dei Canali
Salerno, Italy

This will be one heck of an experience!


L'Associazione culturale "Accordature Salernitane", nella persona di Elvira Cicalese
presenterà MARC GUNN in concerto nell'ambito della II RASSEGNA "CONCERTI NEL CHIOSTRO"

Chiostro del Conservatorio "Ave Gratia Plena Minor" - via dei Canali - Salerno
Dal 2 al 10 Maggio dal 7 al 21 giugno 2007 - ore 18.45/21.00

VENERDI' 22 GIUGNO ORE 21 ingresso gratuito

Iniziativa a cura di Francesco Paolone e dell'Associazione "Accordature Salernitane", in collaborazione con il Comune di Salerno e la Città dei creativi

Per info: Elvira Cicalese - Associazione culturale "Accordature Salernitane"
339 1771954 -

So need one more reason why the Alamo Drafthouse is the greatest movie theater ever?

Sure, you have full, tasty meals. You can order alcohol and a better assortment of non-alcoholic drinks as well. Friendly, clean. Then there's the pre-previews where you can watch old video clips relating to the movie you're about to see. But there is another reason.

Friday afternoon, I made a trip the Alamo Drafthouse Village to see the latest Die Hard movie (AWESOME!!!!). At the ticket booth, they had a sign. "Today Is Baby Day" (or something like that). Every Tuesday and Friday afternoon, parents can bring their babies with them to watch movies Without worrying about whether they will disturb other movie watchers. If the baby cries, the baby cries!

To me, that's just a beautiful sign of respect and love for their customers. Mothers and fathers can enjoy a movie without fear of disturbing others because I Was Warned. Mind you, there were no babies that afternoon. And I think the explosions and my whoops might've been enough to wake any baby, BUT I LOVE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE! Greatest movie theater ever!