It's getting towards the end of June and the days are long. Annual graduation ceremonies have come and gone, champagne toasts have been forgotten. As are most of the ritualized graduation speeches.

I remember my good friend Paul giving a great commencement speech at my high school graduation. I wish Paul had given my college convocation as well because I can't remember who actually gave it, only that I was unbearably uncomfortable in the 90 degree heat and humidity of Austin after one, maybe two but no more than nine adult beverages the night before. It would have been a better ceremony if the Dean had handed me a couple of Tylenol instead of a diploma and the stage had been over a cool swimming pool that ended with a refreshing immersion in the deep end.

You know who else besides Paul would have given a meaningful message that would have resonated a little more clearly that day? Steely Dan's Any Major Dude, that's who:

Any major dude with half a heart will surely tell you my friend/Any minor world that breaks apart falls together again.

I was reminded of that line from the song when I revisited Admiral William McRaven's graduation speech from May 2014 at the University of Texas. You may have heard of this major dude before. He was responsible for implementing and executing Operation Neptune Spear, the special operations raid in Pakistan that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.

It's easy to have preconceived notions of what a military man, a former Navy SEAL believes in his life outlook. It's easy to assume he's a trained warrior with a black and white viewpoint that has no room for the subtle gray of nuance and distinction. I'm not so sure. I've listened to and read the speech several times and, personally, I believe he shares the vision and attitude of Any Major Dude:

I can tell you all I know, the where to go, the what to do/You can try to run but you can't hide from what's inside of you

The speech takes nineteen minutes to watch or ten to read. It's worth it. Now, go make your bed.

Let's get this started.

Disdainful, casual, jaded, assured. All descriptions that don't really mesh well together in a word stew, but words that I easily identify with because they are ingredients I want to combine in my own soup. They also characterize the songs and persona of Father John Misty and feed my fascination with his music.

FJM walks the narrow line of a singing and strumming contradiction. Optimistically fatalistic--he's not a priest although he won't shy away from the metaphysical. His real name is Josh Tillman and he defies all the readily available, stale categories like singer/songwriter and folk singer.

A bizarre sense of humor and an ear for the hook refine this love song to his wife: Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins). Dig the Spanish horns and give your earls a swirl:

Ever get tired of your head? I do. I get tired of your head. I get tired of mine. Sometimes I want a new head. Sometimes I want you to have a new head.

Thankfully a Chinese researcher is working on a solution for our tired heads. (Hint: this WSJ link may not allow you to see the whole story. If not, just copy the headline to the story into your search engine and a link to the whole story will be provided.)

Xiaoping Ren is transplanting heads. Seriously no joke for real true story. He put the head of a small brown mouse on the body of a small black mouse. And it breathed. And opened its eyes. And then asked for a couple of Excedrin Migraine with a scotch sidecar.

You see where this is going, right? Today, a brown mouse head on a black mouse body. Tomorrow, a horse's ass attached to the shoulders of Ted Cruz and Nancy Pelosi. Redundant, I know, but you get the point.

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