windshops and weddings

It’s all done kids. The Windshop (aka the ‘man’) wound up its annual summer instrument run today, and things came to a clean and tidy finish. There were a few 10-11 hour days, but for the most part it was a steady 3 weeks with minimal confusion - which is a good thing. I get a little break for a bit, then it’s the big switch into repair mode. It appears I’ll be ‘Baritone Boy’ again this year (yea me) which really isn’t such a bad thing. I played the horn from grade 8-12 and it’s nice in a way to get that blast from the past. It’s a good time - not a long time …although 2 months will seem like forever when it’s all said and done. For those of you who may not know, the Baritone and Trombone share the same mouthpiece - so what this means is if you can play one, you’ll typically be able to play the other. The only difference being one has keys while the other has one of those slide thingys. But that’s a minor detail.

It appears to be the weekend of weddings. I guess Canada Day might do that for some - and as a result I have a Wedding Crashers wedding tomorrow night followed by an America Rosa wedding on Sunday night. These are typically good gigs, I mean, who really shows up to a wedding without plans for having a some sorta fun - but the sucky thing for me is that both these gigs require their respective bands to provide their own sound …which means I get to pull that double duty ’soundman’ shite again. That’s a bummer. Kinda makes for a long day/night as well - but then hey, money is a nice persuader when it comes to mucking around with music, so although I’m complaining …I’m not doing it all that loudly.

I’ve got a new tune in the works as well - hopefully have it up for you all by my next posting. I kinda had it pegged as a ‘rocker’ but I’ve scaled that description back a bit - so know I’m just trying to find a new sound that works with the piece. I’ll find it …eventually. My little Apex had been giving me some issues lately - or at least I hope it’s that and not the Macbook. Anyway, one of the two better work itself out or there’s gonna be hell to pay!

<what does that mean anyway?>

shortsightedness

It was a great bike ride into work today. Perfect temperature, sun out at the right time and a nice smell through the trees after a late night shower. Luckily, I find around 80% of my route going through the river valley trails (Millcreek Ravine to be precise) so any commute with automobile traffic is pretty much nil. For the past few years I quite often come across an old man on a tricycle (a larger 3 wheeled ‘old timers’ bike with a rear basket and all) atop a certain hill just by Edmonton’s only Velodrome. He seems to always chain his bike to a nearby tree and then venture off into the remote field by foot. In a small clearing I always find he does one of three things …either walk around slowly, just stand there, or at times does a little dance - almost some sort of ritual type performance. Today as I came upon him I made the comment to myself “The old man’s got his boogie going on today …or what’s left of it that is.”

Having said this I had to stop myself for a moment. I started to think about what he was doing, and more importantly at what age he was doing it at. In hindsight it’s quite remarkable that he consistently gets himself outside on a bike at 7:30 in the morning. I recall him being out there in the snow as well (the trails for are cleared for us winter bikers) and in near darkness during the colder months. I had to wonder at his dedication, to accomplish this at his age. Of course I don’t know his age, but judging from occasional glances at his face, posture and gait I’d have him pegged for somewhere in his 70’s or 80’s …and that’s no small feat.

So who am I to make a snide comment about a man who seems to have lost some of his ‘boogie’. How thoughtless of me. I would think any of us to be as lucky just to accomplish a small part of what he does. He stands out from his class. He’s a credit to his age group and a role model to all. Hopefully the next time I cross paths with him on the trail I’ll have the decency to offer a small nod of approval. Perhaps even a wave …as I could only wish to one day be as fortunate as him.

lost is not knowing

lost is not knowing.
holding on to shadows while
wishing or dreaming or hoping.
thoughts springing only
from thoughts.
lost is perceptions rather than
facts - and facts left to
imaginations becoming perceptions.
lost is an unreal.
an after-taste in the mind and a
craving that hangs loosely.
lost is a four letter word.
a flavorless taste.
lost is a vision warped - a rough
outline of previous sights now
blurred and hazed and clouded.
lost is a dissonant harmony,
a feeling that has no touch
like a skin without a sense.
a scent left dormant or
a breath unreceived.
lost is a gaze in silence,
unbroken. a laugh unheard.
a longing that arrives yet again
unfulfilled.
lost is an echo.
lost is the space between unisons,
a chance that was taken
but never returned. a color faded
and an opportunity unseized.
lost is a love untested - unspoken.
a kiss only promised and an
embrace imagined.

lost is 1 rainy morning,
2 minutes to nine on the
3rd longest day of the year
…and not knowing.

tullycraft nation

Of all the music I’ve played in my life there have only been a handful of cover songs that I’ve actually learned to sing and play along with on the guitar. All of these I currently forget (probably 3 in total including two Beatles songs) but the one that I have committed to memory is ‘Superboy - Supergirl’ by Tullycraft. When I first heard this tune about 6 years ago, it grabbed my attention for a whole bunch of different reasons, some of which are …the melody was quirky, the structure was simple and the lyrics were about something that I never would have dreamed of in my lifetime. Here they are for your reading enjoyment…

Superboy, Supergirl:
Oh, I’ve got a question for your Superworld
What gets you through?
Who gets you past?
And how do you, fly so fast?
Oh, is it the fame?
Cause everybody knows, who you are?
Well, it can’t be the same
Cause I hear you’re from outer space, pretty far
Superboy’s got his problems,
And Girl’s got her hang-ups
And I know that it can’t be easy to be
Superboy in a messed up world, these days
Or a Supergirl in a thankless world, these days

I said, “Please don’t let them get you down,
Because you’re the only superheroes in our town.”

I have the Tullycraft site bookmarked and occasionally check out their ‘Mp3 of the Day’. It’s a fantastic way to hear music you may not have heard before - along with some that you haven’t heard in a long time. It usually puts me in a good mood when I need a diversion of some type. It’s definitely not the usual ‘power-pop overproduced shite’ you would normally hear on the radio, but instead it’s more of a raw look at what music most likely should be. It’s what pop music is before it falls into the hands with money. Inspirational - and worth a few visits before you form any judgement at all.

salad fingers

Fatpie.com is a great website. It’s flashed based and is run/created by a fellow called David Firth. A lot of the site are cartoon animations, however they’re not like the typical cartoons that would immediately come to mind for most people (although ‘Burnt Face Man‘ is somewhat normal). David has what might be described as a ‘dark’ sense of humor - but then, humor isn’t entirely what the site is about either. It’s slightly whimsical, partly tongue in cheek, generally stream of thought, harshly personal, overtly gloomy, often inhumane and most importantly - revealing. Lol, that is to say that it’s really hard to explain. His main series of cartoons (and arguably his best) revolve around a character called Salad Fingers. I bought one of his Salad Fingers t-shirts a while back and it surprises me on how often it’s recognized, whether visiting my schools and having students make remarks, or most recently in line at my grocery checkout - where a girl had to comment on how warped and scary she thought the character was. Sure, he is warped and scary - but I don’t necessarily think that’s his only purpose …along with the other characters that David has brought to life.

It’s a site that makes you think. Sometimes though, in order to get you to think about something, you have to see it for what it is on its most basic level. And I think this is what makes David as successful as he is with Fatpie. I’m going to mention the term ‘PG13′ before I give you the link - although a lot of people would argue that this rating should be somewhat higher.

Click for —–> Salad Fingre

the grind

Today was a day.

The ‘man‘ really stuck it to me this time - but it was sort of expected. It’s the start of the busy season for us in the instrument repair business (wow, that sounds official) and as the school year winds down, we are doing the opposite. Summer repairs can be quite the overwhelming affair, at least that’s what I’ve found over my near 3 year run, and these last two weeks are a time when we pick up enough ’stuff’ to keep us more than busy over the summer. We have help from others luckily - and as it turns out we usually have the same people in every year …so it’s just like a great big family!

Tomorrow I’m doing the road thing with the 1-ton. It’s the ‘milk run’ so to speak, as I head out south to many of the outlying townships and communities. I’ve got around a dozen stops planned, and if all goes well I’ll get back to the shop by mid-late afternoon, and after ‘tagging and storing’ things I should make it home by 6. Gotta remember to eat tomorrow as well …even if my favorite ‘Slurp‘ stops are calling me from every small town corner store. But yeah, that’s what I do for the next two weeks - then it’s into ‘repair mode’ at the shop, which also happens to be a larger time investment then my daily M-Th runs throughout the normal school year. But such is summer I guess. I only wish I was living it up in some exotic local like some certain people I know….

…people like Vera for example. She’s currently studying over in France, and judging by these pictures, obviously has her priorities in order I’m getting a little behind on her ‘reading list’ that she initially gave me before she left - but I only need a bunch of rainy days to get sorta caught up, I can do that. France seems like a nice place, but from what she describes it’s also somewhat of a culture shock. It would be for me that is. But yeah, maybe one of these days I’ll make the swim across. I guess I better start training!

I should also mention the new Strongbad Email and TGSquad for those of you have been remiss in keeping up with your weekly Homestarrunner episodes. SB’s Dot Matrix is gone …which is sad cause it reminded me of an old Imagewriter, or rather - ImageWriter.

the road trip

I occasionally like to skim the MacWorld magazine …it’s a nice peek into the new products by and for the Mac Community. I personally have a subscription to MacLife - but only because my nephew was selling it and it was the only Mac monthly that came with a CD. I loved the CD! It was good because it gave you versions of software that you could use/reuse after a ‘hack’ or working/expired serial became available. Yes I know, I’m a pirate of some sorts - but I only do so to try things out …use it for a while - and if I really, really like it then I’ll buy the program with real money. Kinda like free downloading or file-sharing music …I’ll ’steal’ some songs to see if I actually like the artist …if I do, then yeah, I’ll buy an official download, CD or some merch. Anyway, MacLife took the CD out of its magazine this year …so now I essentially spend 5 minutes flipping through it and then I’m done. But on to my MacWorld bit…

In the July 2007 issue, Jason Snell (in ‘From the Editor’s Desk’) begins his column with a few paragraphs praising technology for saving his kids from the family road trip. “Back when I was a kid, that would of meant 8 hours of boredom. But our kids actually look forward to it these days.” He goes on about watching TV shows and movies with the video iPod, listening to music and pod-casts via a ‘wired’ iPod mini, getting ETA’s and locations to gas stations and restaurants via the GPS Receiver, surfing the web and receiving calls via his cell phone and finally using a cellular modem with his Macbook to check emails. Wow …can this be for real?!

So I have to ask you all …“Did you realize that as a kid you were bored out of your mind on an 8 hour road trip?” Did you realize there was nothing to be gained by being an annoyance to your family? By reading a book? A Comic? Playing games with your brothers and/or sisters? Fighting, bickering and name calling? Getting along wonderfully? Screaming? Singing? Did you realize there was nothing to be gained by watching things pass by your window? Seeing the changing landscapes, skies, animal life and of course other people, cars and buildings? Playing with a new toy? A puzzle book? Learning things about your family? Hearing stories? Laughing about funny things that happened to those you’re traveling with? Being creative without anything but your own imagination?

I’m not suggesting in this technologically advanced society that parenting is amiss, that kids are less creative or that families are weaker as a unit. I can’t be a kid now, and as you know have no kids of my own, so I can’t say what ‘difference’ technology brings to the family dynamic on the road trip - but what I can say is that my road trips were not boring. They were an ‘event’. Something that you may not have necessarily looked forward to, but still came away richer from - whether you realized it at the time or not. My road trips were not a continuation of my home life while in a car, instead, they were an adventure of a sort. They were a chance to be away from the comforts of home. Away from what was typical and what was done everyday.

But that’s just me I guess - and not Jason Snell. I guess it’s a good thing that he’s got his GPS with him during his frequent trips from San Francisco to L.A. After all, it saves him and his family from having to remember where they had previously stopped to eat and get gas. What a relief.

loops and kidneys

I’ve recently added a few more loops to the Looperman site. I took a break from the whole ‘loop’ thingy for a while as I was kinda busy with other music crap …but after sitting myself down and ‘just doing it’, I was able to get some half-decent things out. It is fun (I think I mentioned that earlier somewhere) - the neat thing about loops is that it’s a creative outlet without a hugh time investment. With songs typically, you’ve got to write melodies, lyrics and forms - then you’ve got to arrange it all so it works together …and finally play and record the individual tracks to get anything half-decent to present. Loops only needs to be balanced and normalized. Typically I put about an hour or so from start to end …and most of that time is spent listening to what I’ve done to make sure it feels right to me. It’s rewarding, and hopefully one of these days I’ll actually build a song around one of them. One of these days.

Did a little Mtn. Bike excursion with the boys (Craig, Travis and Chris) earlier as well. We explored some of the many Terwilliger Park trails here in the city and after about 3 hours, packed it in with only a small case of a stiff back. Feeling fine overall though, at least considering my ’senior’ status. To be honest though, I feel about as nimble and quick as I did in my 20’s …maybe even more so - although, I guess I can’t really be sure as to what that feels like. One thing I noticed about this ride was a little kidney pain towards the end. All those roots and crap have their effect on you (even if you’re off your seat) and the memories flooded back to the good ol’ Motocross days. Back then you used a kidney belt regularly - but of course the jarring was a lot more severe.

Yep - those were the days …back when the things we did were almost 15 years ahead of the tag ‘Extreme Sports’. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have the compact/expendable recording media that today’s kids take for granted. But I’m sure the same could be said for previous generations of ‘over-active’ youth. And rightly so.

At a Calgary track with my 82′ YZ125

Lol, my Baba with my 81′ CR125. Notice the black cylinder head.
Mmmmmm, custom port job I think she’s proud!

the 8 minute masterpiece

Welcome to another edition of ‘What the Bachelor’s Eat!’ Today on the program we prepare the infamous (that’s famous plus a little extra) 8 minute Chili! It’s been a staple for years among the bachelor elite, and as expected, the method of preparation falls within the top ten bachelor elite’s cooking rules: #2 - can be made and served in one bowl, and #6 - can be made in less than 10 minutes. So without further delay…

Ingredients: Uncle Ben’s Minute Rice, Stagg brand Vegetable Garden Chili, Cheddar Cheese, 1 Green Onion, a wee bit of H2O and finally some Siracha Chili Sauce.

We begin by chopping our green onion into a bowl, adding about a cup of rice, then pouring in the proper amount of water needed. Mix these together and then microwave on high for 3:33. Remember kids, repeated numbers on the microwave are a bachelor’s friend.

While you are patiently waiting for this to cook, cut 3-4 slices of cheese and open your Stagg Chili can …it should have the ‘pull-top’ lid which of course means one less utensil to use. Sweet. When the rice is done, remove it and add the Chili (1 half can) and the cheese, then return to microwave for another 2:22. Yes, even numbers again …this is for speed in case you’re wondering.

When this is done, remove and mix throughly …you can then add your desired helping of Siracha hot sauce. Again, stir briefly and ‘Viola’ ….8 min. Chili!

So that’s it kids. It’s thick, rich and sticks to your ribs. It’s made in one bowl and only uses 2 utensils (although if you’re into jabbing away at your cheese and onion with a fork you can cut this down to one). If you manage your time properly you can most likely get it done in under 7 min. as well. The only real draw back could be the white rice (it’s fine …although brown would be better for you) and the salt content in the Stagg Chili (about 30% or your daily intake) - but besides these two ’slights’, it’s a fairly healthy meal and gives you a leftover half can of chili for use a day or so later.

Bon Appetite! (that means something in French …although I can’t say for certain without scouring the internet via Safari’s new Beta ‘3′ browser - which for the record still doesn’t work properly with the wordpress site) Boooooo, Apple.

oooooooohm

Namaste.

That means “How’s it hanging?” in yoga circles …kinda. I’ll let you figure it out (and tell me if you do) while I go on about my very first yoga experience. I enrolled in the ‘Discover Yoga’ class at the Shanti studio here in Edmonton …and it was kinda fun. A little tiring of course - but fun. I’ve got some lower back and flexibility issues that I’ve been dealing with for a long time now (I think some roofing set it off) and I’ve been meaning to get into the yoga thing for quite a while. I did some self-study for a bit and had some pointers from a few friends but I could never really keep to any type of schedule. Hopefully this will help.

There’s more people than I thought in the class (close to 20) but the group is quite well mixed so I don’t feel out of place. Rob, the instructor, goes about things pretty slow, and because there’s such a variety of students it seems that I have plenty of time to catch on to the ‘postures’ he presents. From what I can figure there isn’t going to be any ’set’ routines that we work on each class, but rather he’ll coach us through a variety of different forms - occasionally hitting on ones that we’ve already tried. So yeah …it thought overall it was pretty sweet. Of course I suck at a lot of things when it comes to flexibility, but I seem to be on the ball with balancing and stuff. I even worked up a little sweat during some parts. And we did the whole ‘Ohm’ thing to start and end the class. I of course smirked a little cause I’m so cultured and all, but as a pointer to those un-Ohm’d out there, don’t try to harmonize the thing cause you’ll be the only one and possibly look (sound) a little foolish. I subsequently hauled in my ‘3rd’ quite quickly

Also, Audrey’s on my case lately to sing some more stupid wedding songs for her band as well. First it was ‘Mambo #5′, then ‘Cadillac Ranch‘ and now she wants me to do some Johnny Cash. God help me. The problem with learning to sing these songs is that when I learn them, they’ll be officially stuck in my head till I’m dead. I quite certain of this! In 40 years time (God help me again) when I’m laying on my death bed not having heard the songs from today onward …I’m positive that’ll I’ll be able to recall them for you. That sucks. What a waste of brain space! Mind you though, what else do I really have to fill this noggin anyway …Canadian Idol!? <kill me now please>