Journal
Josh Progressive
November 8th 2007
I tried, as usual, to encourage Sam to get into a bunch of trouble.
Sukot and Windows and Jams, Oh My!
October 1st 2007
Wednesday night was another long adventure into the world of Dark Star Orchestra - a Grateful Dead cover band that replicates shows pretty closely. This year's Seattle show highlighted a 1992 set. This set appealed to me more than last year's 80's set. I think its because by 1992 they were just rehashing the old stuff and not so stuck on certain sounds and new songs.
Thursday night was a long one at the Blue Moon playing with the Harborrats. After playing there last year I vowed never to do so again - just a bad night overall. But I let in and this time it was a LOT better. Dennis let me use his monster amplifier and so I was actually louder than Sam this time :) But again, sticking around for Mullaly (who was great, by the way) made for another long one.
Friday night was the real marathon. After taking most of the day off to install window trim at home, we headed up to Bellingham. After Taco Bell, a long set as a trio, Northwest fall with no jacket, and a home arrival of 3:30, I was bushwhacked! But it was fun as hell and the positive spirits were surely what kept health alive.
Saturday and Sunday saw the completion (sans painting) of the window trim installation. With non-stop rain, we ended up erecting an awning/tent extending off the back deck to keep the wood and equipment dry. Lo and behold this coincided perfectly with Sukot - the Jewish holiday also known as the 'Festival of Tents'. Though it was not made of palm fronds or pine boughs, did not allow a view of the stars, we didn't sleep under it, and we used it for work (non-sabbath friendly) we still feel like we came close to doing our part. A whole lot closer than we've done before! One step at a time, eh...
Spam email
September 21st 2007
However, I've recently become pretty excited about the foreign language spam. Portuguese and Spanish are fun because its a chance to learn some non-daily words.
But the best are the non-alphabet languages. Two days ago I received an email in Chinese. A nice large font, it was like waltzing through the Louvre from the comfort of my home office. The next day came along a Russian spam. The stylized text again transformed an invitation to make my wonger longer or to send my bank account number... into a beautiful work of art.
Thanks foreign spammers!
Acting
March 28th 2007
However, it does make me pretty excited when I project myself into another dimension. This morning I heated up some leftovers. After plopping the food from the container onto the plate it looked just like wet dog food. This got me extremely excited thinking that I could eat like an animal (not to say I'm not). Then I got to thinking about how its fun to drive with my head out of the window and roll around in the dirt, etc. Maybe I'll be a dog next Halloween. I think I could play that out...
Off the box
January 9th 2007
So off of the soap-box we go, down to the world of the mundane and less preechy. But isn't that where all the good stuff happens anyways? All my favorite songs and poems are about the simple pleasures of the 'times that were'. So here now will be written the times that are, eventually culminating in the times that were, eh?
Record scents for later!!!
July 11th 2006
TOKYO (AP) - People stopping to smell the roses can now take that sweet floral fragrance home with them or even send it to a faraway grandmother thanks to a new gadget in Japan that records and replicates the world's odours.
The new device, developed by scientists at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, analyzes smells through 15 sensors, records the odour's recipe in digital format and then reproduces the scent by mixing 96 chemicals and vaporizing the result.
money.canoe.ca/News/Sectors/Technology/2006/07/11/1678462-ap.html
I just can't wait until this stuff gets integrated into movies, music, home entertainment, cellphones, etc... including the scent codes into MP3 metadata for your iPod.
Move over opiate derivatives, this could be the next big addiction. You heard it here first. Those musical movements that are so tightly tied to various drugs - heroin, ecstasy, LSD, etc... - may quickly be replaced by this. Imagine people being able to smell Courtney's Love while listening to her CD? Now that sure would sell - though I'm more curious as to what Frank Zappa's 'Dirty Love' would smell like. And envision those folks that just can't get over past loves or 'glory days' humped over in alleys whiffing away at their little devices - begging change to get 'scent' refills.
Another prediction, the devices will be cheap. It will be the scent refills that really get you ;)
Another day...
April 6th 2006
Some things get old with repetitiveness, but pie and ice cream for lunch seem to stay pretty fresh. At least while the pie is fresh...
It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Homer tries to eat a ten foot hoagie. All the while its rotting away and making him sick. Oh, but its so good!
Life is good and other ramblings
April 4th 2006
Creeping Time is headed to Crystal Mountain for the weekend where we'll play two nights and ski two days. Now only if Michal isn't too busy and can join us could it get any better.
Michal only has one quarter left until she completes one of her degrees. It will be a long quarter, but it will feel pretty dang good in June.
Jacob Wren just turned 1. Sadly, I haven't seen him lately. But I hear he got his first ocean swim less than a week ago!
I've started listening to Led Zeppelin's lyrics. Don't get me wrong, I love the music and am by no means implying I can write anything better. But come on, for one of the all-time classic groups, their lyrics don't do much for me.
"I've got my Flower, I've got my Power..." (Dancing Days)
Judy and Yan are coming to the area in early June. Our first extended family visitors! For some reason, Seattle isn't a destination for many people. There are not many flights from Detroit and certainly not many discounted flights.
As Craig Dobry said (who will also be out in Seattle soon with his lovely wife Linda) "Breathe in, smile. Breathe out, in the moment". What a great Mantra...
Trust
February 28th 2006
A long story short, I went down to Conor Byrne and got to take part in a most memorable jam. When it was time for Joe to leave, people finally got the nerve to ask the more 'interview' style questions - where do you live, how did you get into music, what's your schedule like, and 'how can I make a living at this?'. To the final question, Joe's answer was simple: "Play the music you love and the money will come". How much? "Just enough" :) There you have it, put your heart into something and it will all be just fine.
Driving home I was flagged down by a tall man in his mid 40s/50s. He started into a very long story about moving to Vancouver and his kids had his wallet in the moving truck and he needed money for gas, etc... The only part of his story that I actually believed was when he said no-one was stopping for him and that there was a guy on his way to Lake Union to fetch him a couple gallons of gas. Anyway, I talked with him briefly and let be to be. He thanked me and I drove off. Most people, and even myself normally, would have sped right past the guy. And if having to encounter him, would have given no help. Supposedly, one guy decided that he'd help him but at the same time, try and catch him in a lie (hence getting gas for him, not money). But hey, a gift's a gift, right? If nobody trusted anybody else and we tried to micromanage every interaction we have with the outside world, we'd be completely overwhelmed and terribly dissapointed.
The rest of the way home, my mind was pretty at ease. It was cold outside and I had opened the passenger side window to talk to the previously mentioned man. Forgetting to close it after taking off, I was freezing, but hey, it felt great. My mind was racing with songs with lyrics like "things are gonna get easier" and "everything's gonna be alright", etc... Trust yourself and your fellow man. I've been burnt by doing this, but this is the modus operandi that gives the most hope for the future.
Beginning of the year
February 21st 2006
As 2005 ended, I was a little worried that I'd been slacking and wouldn't be playing much live music in 2006. But then the original author of 'you reap what you sow' showed how true (s)he was. Every weekend except 1 this year has had a live gig of some kind. And its all exemplified by tonight's multi-band performance. Three separate acts I've been playing with are performing together - thankfully in the same room.
Next big goal is to have two consecutive months where there's at least one vacation per week...
