t-bones, girls and uncle

Did I mention earlier that I suck at the trombone? Yes? The answer is yes …and I just reconfirmed it again this morning. Maybe it’s the day-after lips or something. But yeah, I still suck. But on a happier note (pun not intended but I’ll take it), I deleted my POF profile. Yea me …and I feel better already. Now I’ll just go out and do what I’ve been doing for the last 20 something years.

It’s worked like a charm so far

Oh yeah, and I want to mention that I did the funeral thing a few days ago. For my Uncle of course, and it went pretty much as I had thought it would. I attended the service in between my deliveries for the ‘man’ so I had the company van loaded with horns with me when I went. On the way to leave, I thought my Uncle Bill would have found it pretty funny if I took out a horn and ‘buglefied’ the crowd a little. He had come across an old moose or deer antler/horn of some type when I was a kid, fashioned it to some rolled up copper tubing with hose clamps and then stuck a trumpet mouthpiece in the other end. Lol, he couldn’t play it …so I usually did. And he’d laugh. Like one of his grand-daughters described at the service, he’d get this stupid little grin across his face and then break out into his laugh …I’d try to describe that for you but I couldn’t do it justice. I suppose that’s the kinda thing you remember about a person. The kinda thing that’s beyond description …and hangs around with you for the rest of your life.

Maybe my Dad has that horn. I’ll have to ask him …maybe get a picture for you all.

Hiromi Uehara

I came across a video on youtube featuring Hiromi Uehara. She’s a Japanese piano player (born in 1979) who musically crosses a bunch of different genres – including classical, jazz and progressive rock …whatever that means I guess. Anyway, I like it. I was kinda entranced by the 5/4 – 4/4 (for lack of a better description) section of her song ‘XYZ’ which is built/improvised around a pattern played repeatedly on the bass (and sometimes piano). I couldn’t figure it out though! Bad me – lol …so I succumbed to the old ‘half speed’ digital slow down thingy and eventually got it. Of course I can’t play it up to speed yet, but I’m getting close for small durations …but I’ll get it. It is neat. If you’re at all keen on bass stuff you might try working this pattern up to tempo yourself. I’m not a bass player …at least not a real bass player – so I have an excuse. Here’s the tab followed by a good sounding video featuring the lik somewhere at around the 1:00 minute mark.

This other video is another I came across from her and her band – it too is excellent and is called “Return of Kung-Fu World Champion”. Pay attention at around 3:54 for a neat sounding reggae type groove with video game overtones, and also at 6:42 for a bass tone/feel emulating the same cheesy nintendoish vibe. The drummer is great …ditto for the bass – and of course Hiromi is killer technically. It’s reasons like this why I don’t even try to be a good player. It’s impossible for me to dedicate/devote the time needed to achieve something even close …and besides, it seems my mind wasn’t made for staying interested in one thing for too long.

Stupid mind.

POF

I’m an idiot.  Did I ever mention that before?  I think I did …I must have.  It would make sense.  I don’t know why I bother sometimes …I should just realize that certain things and me do not go together.  What things you ask …lol, well – POF emails, that’s what.  I should just accept that fact that what I say in my head shouldn’t always be typed out on a keyboard.  It might not be so bad if the person actually knew me ….but they don’t, and I go right along saying stupid things and presuming they’ll understand what I’m saying.  I’m just stupid – that’s all.

I’m gonna try a new ‘About Me’ description, maybe something like…

Hi – I’m a guy who is socially inept with online communication.  If you’re looking for someone to say something stupid and make inside/personal comments that only I can understand and you can only guess at, then you might enjoy communicating with me.  If you hate not knowing what a guy is saying to you or what he exactly means when he writes, then you might get a kick out of any future correspondence.  Do you feel lucky?!  Are you up to the challenge?

Aside from being an idiot when talking to chicks, I had a relatively easy night of tromboning.  ‘Sackbutting’ as some might call it – although not many I’ll guess.  It was a short and sweet Big Band gig for a wedding that went down at the Edmonton’s Alberta Aviation Museum’s adjacent hanger.  I remember playing at that place close to 15 years ago …but haven’t been back since.  It’s neat though.  Old of course.  Kinda big …either that or the wedding party was kinda small.  My chops disappeared after the first set more or less, so having the 3rd set suddenly called off (it was only supposed to be 2 sets!) was a relief.  Of course my reading still sucks, and having to play the 1st bone parts didn’t help the matter.  Ledger lines are not my friend btw …but I suppose it was fine enough.  It’s a gig.  Having said that though, I wish I could one day actually play the trombone like I want to.

One of these days.

it begins kids…

The dreaded week of school instrument returns has arrived, and if all goes well, I should be a happy little camper in about a week and a half.  If all goes well that is.  I slept in till 10:30 today cause we finished off the tuba’s yesterday and we don’t get our 1 ton till 3 this afternoon …after which it can be loaded with all kinds of saxamophones, tubamabas, barimatones and trompones for the ‘all in their places with bright shinny faces’ type people – who of course are eagerly awaiting their beloved instruments.  Yeah – right.

And as usual for me, when it rains it pours so I have family stuff to look after, music crap and a bunch of other little ‘things’ that need to get done …sometime in between the no time that I’ll have and the other no time that I’m going to get.  So – if I happen to continue filling my blog with easy to write, no thought required posts then you’ll of course forgive me …and I’ll do my best to squeeze some quality in somewhere.  Somewhere.

So now I’m gonna eat.  Yea eating! …lol – but what does one eat when it’s that time between breakfast and lunch?  Ohhh, what a scary time this 10:30am place happens to be when you’re not used to it!

And in the 10 something vein, here’s a reprint of Spoon’s ‘10:20 am’ lyrics.  I couldn’t find the mp3 anywhere so you’ll just have to trust me that it’s a cool song…

10:20 AM 10:20 AM
WHEN WILL I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN
10:20 AM
WHEN WILL I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN

I CARRY YOU OUT
IT STARTS TO SINK IN
WHEN WILL I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN
YOU’LL BE WITH ME STILL
EVER FROM NOW 10:20 AM

CAUSE I REMEMBER EVERYTHING YOU DID
AND I REMEMBER EVERYTHING YOU DID
EVERYTHING YOU WERE
EVERYTHING YOU SAID
YEAH I REMEMBER EVERYTHING YOU DID

10:20 AM
WHEN WILL I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN
10:20 AM
WHEN WILL I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN

stuff and things…

It was a quick and dirty trip to Expo Latino yesterday.

We’ve (America Rosa) played there 3 years now and I think this trip was one of the nicest weather wise. Generally though, it was pretty much the same old, same old …lots of hanging out, listening to music, meeting people you haven’t seen for while and of course playing. The show was fine …and the FOH sound was pretty good! However, the on-stage sound was less than adequate – but I’m not going to blame the sound people because they can only do what we want them to do. Unfortunately for us as a group, we have a difficult time expressing our ’sound’ needs in a manner that they might understand. Lol, I’ll leave it at that. Anyway, it was fun though.

My 'luli' playing congas ...with the band Bario Sound.

Getting back home though, I got word that my Uncle Bill died the other day. This is one of those death’s that is somewhat of a mixed blessing I suppose. He’s been in different hospitals for the last 2+ years now and has never really improved, save for a small spell last year when he got to come home a little bit. I saw him just the week earlier and he was somewhat ‘out of it’ – responding but then not really responding if you know what I mean. Yes, it’s sad. But at the same time it’s a relief …especially for my Aunt and Cousin who have worn themselves ragged throughout the ordeal. The frustrating thing is that the Doctors never really knew what was exactly wrong with him …at least for a long time, and as far as I was told from my family and such.

Microfeld or Seinsoft?

It appears that Microsoft has enlisted the help of Jerry Seinfeld in some upcoming Microsoft ads that will appear sometime this Fall.

That’s not a bad idea, considering Jerry can still be funny that is. I mean, if he’s going to be the same old Jerry from Seinfeld days then there might be a problem with him simply rehashing himself – which would be bad I think. If they got campy about it and went for the obvious and raw, blatant rip-off of his old character, then I think that would stand a better chance. Being your old self isn’t as funny as making fun of your old self …which I feel would be the best way for them to go. Something like…

“Hey! What’s up with Apple computers?! Does anybody really know? Like, why not oranges? Why not a Pineapple? What about the other fruits, what’s wrong with them? C’mon …” (lol ….maybe)

The other interesting thing is the fact that Jerry’s apartment during Seinfeld always had a computer in the background by the window …and it was always an Apple! It was (for me) one of the easier ways to remember what year the story was taking place, as the computer was always changing with each subsequent redesign. He was always ‘cutting edge’ by the fact that he had the most recent Apple on his set. The funny thing though, and I just verified this with my resident Seinfeld expert, was that her never used it. Not once.

Lol – maybe that’s their angle. Jerry and Bill Gates will have a little discussion…

Bill: “So Jerry, I notice you always had an Apple computer on your set.”
Jerry: “Good point Bill. Yes, I did.”
Bill: “And what did you think of it …how did it work for you?”
Jerry: “Well, that’s the funny thing Bill, I had it for all those years but I could never figure the thing out!”
Bill: “Are you serious?”
Jerry: “Absolutely! It just sat there …like a piece of fruit or something.”
Bill: “You mean …like an Apple?”
Jerry: “Hahahaha ….C’mon! Who’s supposed to be the comedian here!”
(laughing and knee slapping together)

….yada yada yada.

NES Punch Out!

I’ve played with NES emulators many years ago, and I just happened to stumble upon a Mac emulator called Nestopia the other day. It’s pretty cool. NES Roms are available from many different sites (here’s one) as well as for many other gaming systems you’re looking to relive.

NES is classic though as far as I’m concerned. I wasted a LOT of hours working through different levels all in quest of that somewhat elusive final victory. Of course games back then were quite a bit different than they are today, graphically that is, but the lure that pulled you in has probably remained the same. I had fun though. And sore fingers.  And wrists. And late mornings too ….or rather afternoons that is.

So yeah …it’s a blast from the past. Glass Joe and Soda Popinski were just the warm up to Iron Mike

fitness post #349b

Today was back and tri’s kids.

Warm up was about 10 min. alone in a racketball court working on some backhands, but after that it was up to the weight room to start with some front pull-downs. I like starting with some variation of pull-down because it grabs a little of every back muscle, so it’s a nice warm up. After 5 sets (12 descending to 7-8 reps) it was over to close-grip seated rows (5 sets again) for the mid back spots. With this too, it’s nice to fully extend forward to start the movement, then pull back to end with a squeeze as the handle comes into your chest. Finally it was one-arm bent-over rows (the back’s ‘bread and butter’) super-setted with the first tricep exercise – flat barbell extensions.

According to Weight Lifting Workout Routines (from which I snag these excellent stickman images) this tricep movement is called the ‘Skullcrusher‘ – not because you crush your skull of course, but because the potential does exist – so skulls beware! Skulls are soft …and that reminds me of another stupid story I can share with you some other time -lol. Anyway, with the skullcrusher, I use the hammer curl bar and try to keep my elbows in when extending. It’s not necessary, but doing this does help to isolate the tricep. Not doing it still gets the job done …so it’s all good. After this was some pulley pull-downs (5 sets using the rope) followed by some close-grip extensions using the flat-bench bar. These are nice because you can get fairly heavy …and here it’s important to keep your grip no wider than the width of your chest – when the bar comes down to the chest your hands should be just touching the outside of your rib cage. Make sense? Keep your elbows in line with your grip though, not like the first exercise where you can let them slip out. I super-setted 4 sets of standing dumb-bell curls along with this.

Images from Weight Lifting Workout Routines

Rubberfoot!

So it seems Bigfoot turns out to be a Rubberfoot.

I suppose that’s a better moniker anyways – I mean, who wants to be known for an exagarated body part?! Rubberfoot on the other hand, is a cooler name ….lending itself to all sorts of neat superhero type possibilities – ‘The hairy tall guy with the traction of a 4 wheel drive!’ …awesome

It also seems that this revelation is shocking to some – and to the point where compensation is in order …lol. Really! I kid you not – although I wish I was.

“At this time the victim of this series of deceptions, Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., is seeking justice for themselves and for all the people who were deceived by this deception. Due to this event peoples lives have been disrupted and many people, so wanting vindication about there prior experiences were hurt. Let us all try to be mindful of such.“

So yeah, Rubberfoot. He’s cool. Or was at least – until they thawed him out.
I can’t help to think that would be a great Michelin ‘X-Ice’ commercial.

eternity lies on my arm…

eternity lies on my arm in a black ink
that carves along my skin as a blade.
it finds its shape in a manner of
light, and dances to the twitch and
stroke of my pen as I look to
to expose its intention.

it was convenient – and at a time
when I thought less of it. But now the
irony thickens as the mark is
reclaimed, for all intensive proposes, by
itself …in a sun.