Strawberry Fields and Certain Death

A few days ago, I found my way to the Dakota, to the spot at the entrance of the building where John Lennon was killed. I stood for a while and just took it in. The building cast a cold shadow and the wind stirred the hair of curious tourists on 72nd street. The place has a holy intensity, a staunch security guard keeping somber outsiders beyond the iron gates, flames dancing in oil lamps. There was one of those inexpressible, unintelligible feelings that passed through me there. I tried to muster some sort of meaning from it but was just weighed down by the absolute and undeniable certainty of death.

I'm enjoying my stay here more than I had expected. Even if the moment is dull, the setting always has some sort of character. There is so much I have to see in the next few weeks. I'll leave before the end of January to practice for the full year of constant touring that awaits us. I now have a pretty good idea of our schedule, but we wont post it up on the site for a few more days. This year has the possibility of being pretty incredible though.

oh! and I should mention that today its about 15 degrees warmer here than in the bay area. I was walking around in a t-shirt last night. There should be snow on the ground but everyone seems to be enjoying the weather with little hesitation (despite the topic of global warming coming up in every conversation).