here are the lyrics from "Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream "
from Sufjan Stevens "Illinois" LP.

I cried myself to sleep last night

And the ghost of Carl, he approached my window
I was hypnotized, I was asked
To improvise
On the attitude, the regret
Of a thousand centuries of death


Even with the heart of terror and the superstitious wearer
I am riding all alone
I am writing all alone

Even in my best condition, counting all the superstition
I am riding all alone
I am running all alone

And we laughed at the beatitudes of a thousand lines
We were asked at the attitudes
They reminded us of death

Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?

Even in his heart the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?

And I cried myself to sleep last night
For the Earth, and materials, they may sound just right to me

Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?

Even in his heart the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?

Desert Island Challenge

You get to take with you one of each of the following:

album: "Illinois" by Sufjan Stevens
book: "Blackboard Jungle" by Evan Brown
film: "Taxi Driver"
complete television series: Six feet Under

this "Illinois" album by Mr Stevens has blown my mind.

Track 3: "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!: Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition/Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream "

The Sandburg part is incredible, I've never heard anything like it. The work of a musical genius and I do not throw out the term "genius" gratitously.

Track 4: "John Wayne Gacy, Jr. "

This song will send a chill down your spine. On Saturday morning I got my XM radio working and the first song I hear on my XM was "John Wayne Gacy, Jr. ". Oh my. I immediately ran downstairs to my Itunes and downloaded the whole "Illinois" album.

Needless to say, I'm hooked.

We were in Columbus this weekend for Easter.

We went to Hoge Church, I hadn't been there in about six years. It was OK though the service seemed to drag a bit.

We saw "Little Shop of Horrors" at the Ohio Theatre.

Also driving back I was able to check out the Spiceland Kame complex just west of the New Castle exit on I-70. The roadside Geology of Indiana is a pretty neat book. I just have to remember to take it along on other trips around the state.

The house the Boaks used to live in sold last week. I believe the inspection is today. It took about eight months for the house to sell.

I drove up to Westfield, IN this morning to go on a bike ride with CIBA.

http://www.cibaride.org/

The weather conditions were less than ideal and I had to deal with a steady headwind of 20-30 mph as I headed up SpringMill road.

Somehow I made it through the 15 mile loop with a bad bike but I got it done.

After about every 10 cranks the chain would lose its tension and my pedalling would snap until I cranked to the next round.

Still it was enjoyable outing and I plan on buying a new bike having ridden the current one into the ground.

This past Friday I got to see a taping of "Indiana Week in Review" on WFYI. My wife arranged for me to meet with Jim Shella and the panelists. It was cool, I had not been in a TV studio for a long time and all the personalities were very cordial. They did the whole show in one take.

Here is the link to the show.

http://www.wfyi.org/indianaWeekInReview.asp