2009 brings a retrospective of my most interesting musical outputs created over the last 12 months (one year). Although this 21 song disc can be considered comprehensive, it is still worth while scanning this site for music that might have been left out. If you have an interest in receiving “2008: Standouts” please contact tommy burns via e-mail (jkibat@gmail.com) or by simply commenting on this post.

Thank you to everyone who has shown interest in this site over 2008.

So it was a dark and terrible night. On the streets of St. Petersburg I sat, smoked my pipe, and watched the darkness set in deeper. Not long after the shadows had crept into each other my eyes believed to my brain that something was moving out into the large vacant commons. It had appeared from an alley way and was only visible as it moved.

Strange creature-it leaned against the walls of the surrounding buildings, stopping and going as if it were a mouse running against a barn wall. I squinted at it dumbfounded for so long that my uncared for pipe went out. I lifted a match and lit it in front of my pipe. The creature and everything else, except for the bright flame in front of my face, immediately went black. It suddenly occurred to me that whatever had been creeping around the perimeter of the square must have seen me light up.

I immediately put out the match and my eyes readjusted to see the strange figure of a hunched-over man just out of arms reach. Dressed in a fine black suite that showed through an open overcoat, the long haired man was studying me closing.

“banker?”, the voice suggested.

I knew it was him. At long last the inevitable reunion.

“How could you do it? How could you have left the money just sitting there?”, I asked

“Because it was the symbol of what all that time taught me to hate-and that’s people”, the Lawyer replied.

I was thrown back by this and a little appalled.

“What re you doing these days, Lawyer?”, I asked just to keep things polite.

“I eat people. I eat people and I eat corn. I also play in the civic orchestra and shoot methanol.”.

Seeing that I had become very uncomfortable the Lawyer added,

” I won’t eat you or any of the corn you may have with you, in truth without you I wouldn’t be able to fly”,

“wouldn’t be able to fly?”, I asked. “Yeah”, he said.

And with that (without anything else) he took to the sky radiating an explosive energy and leaving behind him an updraft of wind in his wake.

That was the last time I saw the Lawyer and now I am 209. I fear that in the life I will never see my friend again. But knowing that he is able to fly has made all the difference.