The Dax Files

I’ve played with some pretty good guitar pickers in my day. That includes my pals the Elderly Brothers. Although I practice with a metronome to help me keep time, I don’t think I’ve ever set it above 120 beats per minutes (BPM). However this video demonstration of the Guinness Book of World Records Guitar Speed Picking knocked my dick in the dirt. I have never seen or heard anyone pick a guitar this fast. I’m not talking about sweep picking, just good old honest to god alternate picking.
Holy Fuckamoley!
(I know it’s long but well worth it)

Just Damn!

15
The ancient masters were subtle,
mysterious, profound, responsive.
The depth of their knowledge is
unfathomable.
Because it is unfathomable,
All we can do is describe their
appearance.
Watchful, like men crossing a winter
stream.
Alert, like men aware of danger.
Courteous, like visiting guests.
Yielding like ice about to melt.
Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood.
Hollow, like caves.
Opaque, like muddy pools.
Who can wait quietly while the mud
settles?
Who can remain still until the moment
of action?
Observers of the Tao do not seek
fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not
swayed by desire for change.

Tao Te Ching

14
Look, it cannot be seen - it is beyond
form.
Listen, it cannot be heard - it is beyond
sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held - it is
intangible.
These three are indefinable;
Therefore they are joined in one.
From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
An unbroken thread beyond
description.
It returns to nothingness.
The form of the formless,
The image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond
imagination.
Stand before it and there is no
beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the ancient Tao,
Move with the present.
Knowing the ancient beginning is the
essence of Tao.

Tao Te Ching

13
Accept disgrace willingly.
Accept misfortune as the human
condition.
What do you mean by “Accept disgrace
willingly”?
Accept being unimportant.
Do not be concerned with loss or gain.
This is called “accepting disgrace
willingly.”
What do you mean by “Accept
misfortune as the human condition”?
Misfortune comes from having a body.
Without a body, how could there be
misfortune?
Surrender yourself humbly; then you
can be trusted to care for all things.
Love the world as your own self; then
you can truly care for all things.

Tao Te Ching

12
The five colors blind the eye.
The five tones deafen the ear.
The five flavors dull the taste.
Racing and hunting madden the mind.
Precious things lead one astray.
Therefore the sage is guided by what
he feels and not by what he sees.
He lets go of that and chooses this.

Tao Te Ching

11
Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub;
It is the center hole that makes it
useful.
Shape clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it
useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
It is the holes which make it useful.
Therefore benefit comes from what is
there;Usefulness from what is not there.

Tao Te Ching

In the mind struggling with hardship,one always finds something delightful.The sorrow of disappointment arises in the complacency of satisfaction.

~Huanchu Daoren

In the human mind there is a real book,but it is locked up in fragmentary editions. There is a real melody, but it is obscured by weird songs and ostentatious dances. Students should sweep away externals and directly seek the original; only then will they be really able to experience it and use it.

~Huanchu Daoren

10
Carrying body and soul and embracing
the one,
Can you avoid separation?
Attending fully and becoming supple,
Can you be as a newborn babe?
Washing and cleansing the primal
vision,
Can you be without stain?
Loving all men and ruling the country,
Can you be without cleverness?
Opening and closing the gates of
heaven,
Can you play the role of woman?
Understanding and being open to all
things,
Are you able to do nothing?
Giving birth and nourishing,
Bearing yet not possessing,
Working yet not taking credit,
Leading yet not dominating,
This is the Primal Virtue.

Tao Te Ching