I’m here safely in Colorado after exactly 15 hours on the road. It is currently 60 degrees up here; which is so awesome after spending a week in Phoenix. I felt nasty with all that road dirt clinging to me, so I took a quick shower before diving into all of my emails. It was great to take a shower where the spout was actually above my head. My shower in Nashville hits me in the neck. Fun. Afterwards, I took a few moments to stand out on the deck and gaze at the millions of stars. The sky is so clear it seems as though I could reach up and rearrange all of the stars with my hands. I am staying at 9,000 feet in the Rockies, with nothing but the woods and the wind. No street lights, cars or sirens. Just absolutely peaceful. It’s moments like these that you love to share with those close to you. And a photo won’t capture even one tenth of the beauty that I am seeing. As I look at the stars I am reminded of a story that I was once told many years ago. I will try to retell my own version of it with as little detail as possible as to strike the point. (My last post was so long I think some are still reading it.)
A young boy was spending the evening with his grandfather. They were playing inside the house, running toy cars across the hardwood floor and carrying on in a way only a grandpa and grandson could. Out of nowhere the boy said, “Grandpa, what is heaven like?” His grandfather paused for a brief moment then replied, “Do you see how beautiful this finished hardwood floor is?” To which the boy quizzically responded, “Yes.” He then continued, “Come, follow me.” They proceeded outside and pulled away some of the boards blocking access to the crawl space under the house. With flashlight in hand grandpa began to slide through the opening. The little boy followed curiously. After crawling for a few feet grandpa pointed the flashlight at the underside of the floorboards. They both lay there looking up and the grandfather said, “What do you see?” The child replied, “Dirt, spiders, and lots of gross stuff!” Grandpa then said with a chuckle, ”You are correct my boy!” He then shut the flashlight off and his grandson immediately noticed light pouring through the cracks in the floorboards. To which grandpa said, “That’s right! Now hurry out to the backyard with me.” They scuffled out from under the house and raced to the back lawn. Grandpa then took to a spot on the grass and gazed up at the stars. His grandson followed suit and lay back on the grass posturing himself just like grandpa. Then his grandfather spoke again, “Son, see how beautiful all of those stars are?” This was followed by an enthusiastic, “Yes!” He continued, “Those stars are the floorboards of heaven. How much more beautiful will heaven be if like the floorboards of the house, so gross and dirty, are these stars to the floorboards of heaven?”
That little story has always stuck with me and brought a smile to my face. With that I will say goodnight. I have a lengthy day awaiting me after just a bit of sleep. Thank you for all of your prayers, wonderful emails and comments regarding my last blog post. I will do my best to respond to them all.
Godspeed.
Cory Basil
This is the blog that never ends…
I am writing you tonight from Phoenix, Arizona. It is around 11pm and I am sitting on the back deck of a family friend’s house. There is a strong breeze blowing across the trees and for the most part it’s rather quiet, aside from the wind and a stray car. My companion this late June evening is a giant dog named Wallace. He continues to run in the yard chasing the wind for about 30 seconds then returns to my side to lather my leg with spit and make sure that I know he is still there. I have been blessed tonight with one of my favourite things about the valley, the smell of desert rain. There is nothing like it. It is a sweet mixture; 1 part dirty earthiness 2 parts freshness. They say we will be getting a downpour at some point this evening. Which tickles me a bit. After 6 full days here experiencing 110 degree plus temperatures every day. I finally may get to experience desert rain again just hours before I leave. It’s a bit like my life really. Years of dry hot desert air before a beautiful thunderstorm and an onslaught of rain. I’ve yet to experience a refreshing rainstorm in my life. But I know it’s somewhere out there (beneath the pale moonlight). Knowing that reaping what I sow will eventually arrive is what keeps me going; keeps me giving all of my pursuits one hundred percent (or 110% if you are overly –enthusiastic). That and staying around for my family is what keeps me breathing. Continue reading ‘Music, Love & Loss.’
Over a year ago, whenever I first signed onto Facebook, I was browsing the Marketplace which is a small version of Craigslist. I noticed a section where people post what they are looking for… so as a joke I made a post that said, “A date with Kate Beckinsale.” Since then I have received many messages because I haven’t deleted it. Most of the messages just say something really lame like, “In your wildest dreams” or, “You’re such a loser, why would you post this?” But I just received the best one yet and it really made me laugh. Here is what it said:
“I’d have to say that I would be more than happy..what are the qualifications?”
Now I’m pretty sure this guy is dead serious and thinks that I have the power to grant someone a date with Kate. So I’m debating on what my reply to him will be… I mean, I guess I could hold a contest and tell him what the qualifications are… I could make him send in a video explaining why he thinks he should win the date, I could tell him he has to shave his head and wear a dress to work… the options are endless.
I just returned home to my beachfront property here in Nashville after seeing a movie down in Hickory Hollow with a buddy of mine. Allow me to rewind and discuss my day.
This morning I awoke around 8am and shook the sleep from mine eyes. I pulled myself out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Upon reaching the bathroom door my foot slipped in a puddle and I caught myself with the door frame before taking a swim. I had to think hard about this because I had just woken up and this mind of mine creates a plethora of spectacular dreams; so I thought this could be one of them. Nay, it was not. Let us go back even further. Last night upon arriving home from my week away I walked in the door to a horrible stench. I have a powerful drug-sniffing-dog type nose, so if something smells bad to you it more than likely drives me to the verge of insanity. I dropped my bags and went searching for the culprit. Continue reading ‘Indy, Floodwaters and Ninja Mosquitoes’
…you should be slapped.
I just lost my entire blog post. So here I go again. From the top…
I am currently watching ‘P.S. I Love You’ with my Mom. She came out for a few days visit. Last night we watched mobsters and guns in ‘American Gangster.’ So it’s only fair, tonight, a chick flick.
When I first started writing this blog post the movie had a happier lighter tone to it. And now… well, it’s just downright sad. She just exploded in an array of emotion bleeding all over the screen because he died and nothing else matters in life, nothing. She’s just alone. I relate. Completely. So of course my mindset is not even close to the same as when I wrote this post the first time. I guess there’s a reason unbeknownst to me. Movies, it’s amazing how they provoke emotion and weigh the heart. But that is the beauty of it.
Anyway, that was a bit too transparent for the immediate public. Back to the post.
Last night when she arrived we went to Rumba for a bite to eat. (Rumba is a quant little vibey joint down the street from my place, if you ever visit pin a stop to your trip). After great conversation and food we headed back home and watched the film stated above. Continue reading ‘If at first you don’t click save…’
Hey Friends,
Thanks for stopping in. Be sure to check back often this week as I will be posting a couple new morsels for you. I have a busy week ahead but will be posting often!
Thanks,
cB
Thanks to all of you who stopped in last night to view me sketching live on the web-camera. The piece I am working on will be an acrylic painting on canvas for a child’s bedroom.
Here are the sketches from last night. I gave them a little colour today. Click on the photos to view them larger. If you want to skim through the video to watch the sketching CLICK HERE.
Published on May 1, 2008
in Entertainment and Journal Entry.
Tags: broken finger, cory basil, coryBasil, E.T., Franklin, lengthy blog, London, Michael Scott, phone home, pink converse, the shack, the truth is out there.
Oh man…I’m sitting here watching one of my favourite shows that I had set to tivo because I was at the studio today prepping for a shoot that I have on Saturday (That was a strange and long sentence, but I’m not changing it because it was very informative). Wow, this show is so funny. Speaking of tivo. I think a tiny comedian lives inside of mine. And thought it would be funny to erase EVERYTHING that I had on it. All of it was gone. This is a life lesson boys and girls. Everything we have could be gone in an instant, so know where you are headed. Anyway… it was totally frustrating because I had to go through and reset all the shows that I normally record. And of course I lost a bunch of ‘LOST’ episodes that I have yet to see. Also gone were the episodes of ‘Cities of the Underground’ (AWESOME SHOW!!!) and… ‘Deal or No Deal’… ‘The Office’… a couple nerdy ‘Discovery Health’ shows about the human body, brain, etc. And a bunch of ‘The Twilight Zone’s’ (Which I like to stare at late at night and say, “What the heck?”) So what else is new… Continue reading ‘That’s What She Said.’
I just want to quickly preface this article written by Charlie Peacock in what is the last issue to be printed of the age old CCM Magazine. I don’t personally know Charlie other than a few brief conversations back and forth via Facebook. But his thumbprint has been a part of my life since I was a young moron running around singing “In the Light” at the top of my lungs. Those of you who grew up sheltered in the realm of Christian music (myself included) may not know it but Charlie had a huge part of a majority of what influenced you as a kid growing up. From Audio Adrenaline to Amy Grant, dcTalk, Sarah Masen, Eric Champion, Out of the Gray, Margaret Becker and Switchfoot.
I will follow up this post at some point this week by sharing with you my perspective of it all from my days as a kid - til now, wondering where I fit into all of this. And will share a few encouraging words that Charlie gave me personally this week.
~Cory Basil
The following is Charlie’s article.
I’m a man with an opinion, and opinions are cheap. I’m riffing here—that’s what musicians do. Keep your eyes and ears open. See what comes true.
The music business aspect of Christian music (labels, radio, touring, etc.) will continue to follow the pattern of the world, especially as long as baby-boomers and Gen-X people are in charge. The pattern is an increasingly unsuccessful business model run by people trapped in a system intent on slow, incremental change in the face of monumental cultural shifts. The music business, Christian and otherwise, has been a wealth-creation mechanism for a small, elite group of executives, songwriters, producers and artists. Those days are over. Still, the old guard won’t go peaceably. They’ll fight for control to the end. When they finally exit, the new music business will be underway. Continue reading ‘Charlie Peacocks Industry Perspective’
