yesterday i brought out the pre-war blues stuff i had found on archive.org for the 4-7 show that the blues society does on KTEC.
Now, when I am playing the tunes, I usually do it with a MP3 CD and I go through and pick songs out, write the song down as I play it and then remove it from the playlist, and then go back and tell about them after a handful, or sometimes just one... but anyway,
I looked down the list of songs I had to back-announce and the guy doing the show with me laughed. songs by- Blind Alfred Reed, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake. Prior to that set i'd picked a few blues women like Ma Rainey and St Louis Bessie. Picking songs by five blind guys wasn't intentional, and apparently when dealing with old blues, not unusual.
Also played recently was some Peg-Leg Pete. Who really has a Peg-Leg.
Friday, April 04, 2008
For the lady who was 20 on the day Martin Luther King was shot
That was the title of a poem I wrote for my mom on her birthday in.. hmm.. 1993 or '94.
So, yeah, today is my mom's birthday. I will be calling her later when I am done stuffin muffins for the day.
My mom and I have had some differences, but she's always been right there to back me in whatever bizarre plan I was cooking up. She is totally thrilled I have a radio show. She's thrilled I'm involved in the Blues Society thing and I am hoping I can get her to come up here for the festival. I think she's thrilled I made it through my 20s in one piece and with all my brain cells intact. She's thrilled I'm back in school. I miss her a lot. But of course when I go to visit we drive each other bananas and we are both relieved when I'm gone.
My mom gave me my sense of humor. Best. Gift. Ever. We were recently discussing our favorite house that we lived in on Gaffey St in San Pedro, across the street from Ft Mac. In a gorgeous two-story built in the 20s, with wood floors, built ins, a solarium, a service porch, giant gas range, giant kitchen, breakfast nook... we loved that place. It's an art gallery now.
So mom, I don't know if you still come by here to my little mostly-unknown-blabbering-place, but..
Hippo Birdie Two Ewes!
So, yeah, today is my mom's birthday. I will be calling her later when I am done stuffin muffins for the day.
My mom and I have had some differences, but she's always been right there to back me in whatever bizarre plan I was cooking up. She is totally thrilled I have a radio show. She's thrilled I'm involved in the Blues Society thing and I am hoping I can get her to come up here for the festival. I think she's thrilled I made it through my 20s in one piece and with all my brain cells intact. She's thrilled I'm back in school. I miss her a lot. But of course when I go to visit we drive each other bananas and we are both relieved when I'm gone.
My mom gave me my sense of humor. Best. Gift. Ever. We were recently discussing our favorite house that we lived in on Gaffey St in San Pedro, across the street from Ft Mac. In a gorgeous two-story built in the 20s, with wood floors, built ins, a solarium, a service porch, giant gas range, giant kitchen, breakfast nook... we loved that place. It's an art gallery now.
So mom, I don't know if you still come by here to my little mostly-unknown-blabbering-place, but..
Hippo Birdie Two Ewes!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
gold mine
I came across, somewhere, archive.org. I think I was looking for a file of the original "War of the Worlds" broadcast so I could clip some bites out of the parts toward the end.
Found the file. Found that it is too big to manipulate on my computer and I'll have to do it on the Smart Half's.
Also found some great historical recordings. Things like Thomas Edison's first recording from 1887. What is so amazing is that the recording was made over 100 years ago. There was great excitement about those wax cylinders and lily-shaped horns, needles the size of Saguaro spikes. That was state of the art in 1887. Old blues recordings from the teens and 20s (later made on amberol cylinders, and then to wax and amberol platters, which in turn went later to more durable vinyl) are fascinating to listen to, especially when compared with modern blues styles. I really DO love the old, old blues. The one-guy-or-lady-singing-with-a -single-accompaniment stuff. On the archive.org site is a recording of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues". I'd never heard it. I'd heard everyone else's version of it, and I enjoy playing it, but now I can hear how it really went.
I have a CD of oddball sound clips and I used one of them for the end of my show last week. It's an incredible one, I think. A recording of the crash of Soyuz 1, in which you hear Soviet Mission Control (the name escapes me. I know it starts with a Ba sound) and Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov talking back and forth, and then Komarov's realization that he was fucked and was going to be fried in his descent to earth, and then the sound again of the beacon beeps. beep. Beep. Beeeeeep. end of show. hehe.
Well, really, I don't know what people can expect of someone raised on Dr Demento, KXLU and the wild and woolly radio of Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s.
Found the file. Found that it is too big to manipulate on my computer and I'll have to do it on the Smart Half's.
Also found some great historical recordings. Things like Thomas Edison's first recording from 1887. What is so amazing is that the recording was made over 100 years ago. There was great excitement about those wax cylinders and lily-shaped horns, needles the size of Saguaro spikes. That was state of the art in 1887. Old blues recordings from the teens and 20s (later made on amberol cylinders, and then to wax and amberol platters, which in turn went later to more durable vinyl) are fascinating to listen to, especially when compared with modern blues styles. I really DO love the old, old blues. The one-guy-or-lady-singing-with-a -single-accompaniment stuff. On the archive.org site is a recording of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues". I'd never heard it. I'd heard everyone else's version of it, and I enjoy playing it, but now I can hear how it really went.
I have a CD of oddball sound clips and I used one of them for the end of my show last week. It's an incredible one, I think. A recording of the crash of Soyuz 1, in which you hear Soviet Mission Control (the name escapes me. I know it starts with a Ba sound) and Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov talking back and forth, and then Komarov's realization that he was fucked and was going to be fried in his descent to earth, and then the sound again of the beacon beeps. beep. Beep. Beeeeeep. end of show. hehe.
Well, really, I don't know what people can expect of someone raised on Dr Demento, KXLU and the wild and woolly radio of Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s.
what i think so far
My first class on Monday I was confronted with very, very old behavior. So old that it took a minute for me to identify it and wiggle out.
These teachers do not know the family history. There is no reason to get the hackles up if one doesn't acknowledge something you say or ask right away. There is no reason to feel confrontational upon first walking into a class. They are not making note of your every move and sentence to report back to their fellows about "Springer's kid". A pink slip is not going to arrive half way through the class to go listen to the Dean go on about how your dad got away with it (over and over and over) and that a close eye was going to be kept on you, which results in a tardy or absent for the next class, thereby chipping further at what little reputation you have as "smart" or "bright" even more. If you raise your hand to ask a question, you will not be pointedly ignored.
What happened when I was in high school was damaging, and it had little to do with bullying from other students. Bullying and picking on, I could handle with aplomb. Having the faculty and administrators riding my ass for something my dad did while he was faculty at the school I went to... not so great actually. But it's weird to have that stuff resurface NOW, when it didn't at SWOCC or LAHC.
So I just have to be aware of when that kind of thing crops up in my head. On top of all this organization and scheduling stuff they are trying to teach me. Truly, the hardest part of school (ok life in general) for me has always been keeping organized, and I made a lot of attempts to get it together, but somehow managed to get out with passing grades with zero concept of study skills, organization or time management.
These teachers do not know the family history. There is no reason to get the hackles up if one doesn't acknowledge something you say or ask right away. There is no reason to feel confrontational upon first walking into a class. They are not making note of your every move and sentence to report back to their fellows about "Springer's kid". A pink slip is not going to arrive half way through the class to go listen to the Dean go on about how your dad got away with it (over and over and over) and that a close eye was going to be kept on you, which results in a tardy or absent for the next class, thereby chipping further at what little reputation you have as "smart" or "bright" even more. If you raise your hand to ask a question, you will not be pointedly ignored.
What happened when I was in high school was damaging, and it had little to do with bullying from other students. Bullying and picking on, I could handle with aplomb. Having the faculty and administrators riding my ass for something my dad did while he was faculty at the school I went to... not so great actually. But it's weird to have that stuff resurface NOW, when it didn't at SWOCC or LAHC.
So I just have to be aware of when that kind of thing crops up in my head. On top of all this organization and scheduling stuff they are trying to teach me. Truly, the hardest part of school (ok life in general) for me has always been keeping organized, and I made a lot of attempts to get it together, but somehow managed to get out with passing grades with zero concept of study skills, organization or time management.
target acquired
sometimes... people from a particular oregon city are so smug, condescending and nannyish I just want to punch them and then laugh about it.
We don't hate you because you're beautiful, we hate you because you think it's your job (handed down to you on high, no less) to tell everyone else how to live and think, and that people who aren't in line with your idea of "right" are somehow less than you are.
BTW I hate this about many Christians, as well, so don't go thinking you're any kind of special.
With that in mind, take your new religion and cram it in there with the old one.
We don't hate you because you're beautiful, we hate you because you think it's your job (handed down to you on high, no less) to tell everyone else how to live and think, and that people who aren't in line with your idea of "right" are somehow less than you are.
BTW I hate this about many Christians, as well, so don't go thinking you're any kind of special.
With that in mind, take your new religion and cram it in there with the old one.
Monday, March 31, 2008
update on inconvenience store "outrage" lol
The disheveled-looking guy got a ticket for... standing around, I guess. He probably won't ever pay for the ticket he got. In fact, eventually, the city/county will pay for him to stay the night and have dinner
Meanwhile, the dumbass cops missed out on an easy $200+ for the city by ignoring the jackass parked in a place he wasn't supposed to be.
That certainly explains a lot.
Meanwhile, the dumbass cops missed out on an easy $200+ for the city by ignoring the jackass parked in a place he wasn't supposed to be.
That certainly explains a lot.
escuela
yay today is first day at college all over again #2. I have an afternoon class. I have my books. I have my notebook with pockets and holes and the necessary amount of lines on the paper. I have my swell little school-issued "dayplanner and everything else we think you'll need" book. I even have two pens and two pencils, which I will lose by tomorrow morning.
I have a goal this time around and registered with it in mind. For someone who sets goals usually five minutes in advance and then fails to reach them due to poor planning and ooh! a shiny!, that's really saying something. I'm not going to save the earth, but I will have a piece of paper that says I spent all this time and money to not just learn stuff, but prove I learned stuff and that I'm a productive member of society and have been properly indoctrinated in the ways of prevailing higher education thinking. This will enable me to draw/paint/photograph/etc pretty pictures for a living, somehow. Or so they tell me. I am suspicious, as always.
My friend The Warthogger is 10 years older than me (10 years and 11 days to be exact) and this will be her last semester on a 4-year business & marketing degree. She has been and will be my personal ass-kicker.
I have a goal this time around and registered with it in mind. For someone who sets goals usually five minutes in advance and then fails to reach them due to poor planning and ooh! a shiny!, that's really saying something. I'm not going to save the earth, but I will have a piece of paper that says I spent all this time and money to not just learn stuff, but prove I learned stuff and that I'm a productive member of society and have been properly indoctrinated in the ways of prevailing higher education thinking. This will enable me to draw/paint/photograph/etc pretty pictures for a living, somehow. Or so they tell me. I am suspicious, as always.
My friend The Warthogger is 10 years older than me (10 years and 11 days to be exact) and this will be her last semester on a 4-year business & marketing degree. She has been and will be my personal ass-kicker.
september 14
That's the day after our blues festival. I'm dying for September 13 to get here, because it's going to be a good time, but the 14th is when we will all be able to say, "HELL YEAH!!!! WE did it!"
So yeah, Back Door Slam is headlining our festival. Tony Castro will, as I understand it, be here as well. I don't know who else we have booked right now. But it's all going to rock. Two beer gardens both full of locally brewed beers. On a lake. The weather here in September is usually awesome.
Time will drag until then. Then, it'll be Sept 11, and there will be a whirlwind of crazed, nervous activity until the morning of the 13th and then I will explode with joy to have been a part of it, even though it's a small part. And I will drink until i barf. Or I will barf until I can drink again. Not sure what. I'm sure there will be barfing involved somehow... and drinking, but the order they arrive in may not be set in stone yet...
So yeah, Back Door Slam is headlining our festival. Tony Castro will, as I understand it, be here as well. I don't know who else we have booked right now. But it's all going to rock. Two beer gardens both full of locally brewed beers. On a lake. The weather here in September is usually awesome.
Time will drag until then. Then, it'll be Sept 11, and there will be a whirlwind of crazed, nervous activity until the morning of the 13th and then I will explode with joy to have been a part of it, even though it's a small part. And I will drink until i barf. Or I will barf until I can drink again. Not sure what. I'm sure there will be barfing involved somehow... and drinking, but the order they arrive in may not be set in stone yet...
Sunday, March 30, 2008
This morning at the inconvenience store
City PD officers rushed in to the parking lot, presumably to ticket the truck full of guys, obviously not handicapped, who were parked in the handicapped spot.
But no! They were there hassling a disheveled-looking guy standing next to the parking lot.
Having already learned my lesson about the consequences of questioning the activities of an officer, I shut up, but I did call the PD and tell them.
But no! They were there hassling a disheveled-looking guy standing next to the parking lot.
Having already learned my lesson about the consequences of questioning the activities of an officer, I shut up, but I did call the PD and tell them.
comment on a cd
I was going through some of the CDs the station has, and found a Lunachicks one. Written across the face of it in black ball point pen was "This music is HORRID".
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
did you vote?
better have. If you didn't, you're an America-hating commie that wants the terrorists to win, you're a devil-spawn lib'ral baby killer, and a granola chomping hippy. Ruminate the wheat grass!
what
is it about being a winger (right or left, honestly) that makes some people into such humorless fascists? Jeebus on a stick, I hope if anyone ever caught me taking myself so seriously they'd throw a friggin pie in my face.
another lol
but this one you must click on and vote on. MUST. Because I say so. And if you don't, you love GW Bush and hate recycling, and must drive a Cadillac Escalade and enjoy wasting the gas and running over poor people on the corners with their "Will Hump Your Leg For Food" signs.
Enter the Make Ur Lolcat Famous Contest
Enter the Make Ur Lolcat Famous Contest
Monday, March 24, 2008
Another thingie
I jumped in headfirst last night.
In the past, I had only given select people copies of my "#1 hit song". I posted it here and there, maybe once or twice a year, and if you got it then, good for you, because it probably wasn't going to reappear again for a while. Ah, yes, and for good reason, right?
It occurred to me a couple of nights ago to give myself a kick in the ass and get something off the ground. So I opened a new myspace thing up, dropped my song on it, wrote a little bit, threw a picture at it and some "be my friend" things.
So this new myspace thingie is my way of pushing myself to get more of my stuff recorded. It's not like it's a big issue- I have the four-track and I have the way to move it from tape to digital without any big hassle. What i tend to neglect to do is THE WORK involved in recording stuff. I will play my goofy ass shit live for anyone who asks. But record it? That is my brick wall.
We all know I can't sing, and my guitar playing is pretty basic. Neil Young can't sing, and neither can Bob Dylan, so no point in laughing at me because of that. In fact, no point in laughing at me at all, cos i just don't give a shit.
In the past, I had only given select people copies of my "#1 hit song". I posted it here and there, maybe once or twice a year, and if you got it then, good for you, because it probably wasn't going to reappear again for a while. Ah, yes, and for good reason, right?
It occurred to me a couple of nights ago to give myself a kick in the ass and get something off the ground. So I opened a new myspace thing up, dropped my song on it, wrote a little bit, threw a picture at it and some "be my friend" things.
So this new myspace thingie is my way of pushing myself to get more of my stuff recorded. It's not like it's a big issue- I have the four-track and I have the way to move it from tape to digital without any big hassle. What i tend to neglect to do is THE WORK involved in recording stuff. I will play my goofy ass shit live for anyone who asks. But record it? That is my brick wall.
We all know I can't sing, and my guitar playing is pretty basic. Neil Young can't sing, and neither can Bob Dylan, so no point in laughing at me because of that. In fact, no point in laughing at me at all, cos i just don't give a shit.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Take my money, already
Big sort of unpleasant surprise at the station this morning. Threw me off for a good half hour before I could get it all working mostly right, and then all was smooooov as old scotch. Unfortunately, no recording exists to share my righteous "winging it on unfamiliar equipment but not wrecking everything" radio show, because that was part of the problem and it had to be dealt with by the station's software engineer.
Next time...
But then, i came home and proceeded to pay bills. I had 9 bills. I was able to pay 5 of them without any trouble. Found that two have to wait until Monday. One of them I waited in line for 45 minutes (big surprise, at the Sprint store) only to be told I would have to call some other number to take care of it. Already after spending a half hour on the phone trying to deal with it. The last one went was unpayable over the phone or online so I headed to a pay station, and then the fun began. I forgot the PIN on our card, and then maxed the retries... two hours later the damn thing was paid but it took an unreasonable amount of brainpower to do it. So yeah I left the house at about 2:30 and got done giving money away at 6PM, and then had to do grocery shopping for another hour and a half.
Well, I was looking for "I Hate Banks", but this is damn close enough.
Next time...
But then, i came home and proceeded to pay bills. I had 9 bills. I was able to pay 5 of them without any trouble. Found that two have to wait until Monday. One of them I waited in line for 45 minutes (big surprise, at the Sprint store) only to be told I would have to call some other number to take care of it. Already after spending a half hour on the phone trying to deal with it. The last one went was unpayable over the phone or online so I headed to a pay station, and then the fun began. I forgot the PIN on our card, and then maxed the retries... two hours later the damn thing was paid but it took an unreasonable amount of brainpower to do it. So yeah I left the house at about 2:30 and got done giving money away at 6PM, and then had to do grocery shopping for another hour and a half.
Well, I was looking for "I Hate Banks", but this is damn close enough.
Friday, March 21, 2008
winter gets the last word
Came home from the jam a little early last night, just before midnight.
It was snowing.
It was snowing.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
we want the airwaves baby
Today I'm just pushing buttons on the KBS show for half of it and then someone else will come in.
But I'm also preparing the songs for Saturday's Ear Candy show.
Last week's "loose theme" was St Patrick's Day, of course, and so I played some songs by Irish bands, songs about Ireland, and some songs that just kind of sounded Irish. Played some Therapy?, "Celtic Aggression" by Tonic, "Hot Asphalt" by Bedlam Rovers, a few other songs.
This week, it's politics. Mostly because the rumor flying around is that Obama is coming to Medford. I have some real gems for this one. "Rappin Ron Reagan". Anyone remember that? Released during Reagan's second race for pres, it's screamingly funny. "Politician" of course, by Cream. "Map of Your Failure" by Big Chief. That's not officially a politics song, but it has a line about "Kissing hands and shaking babies til I turn gray in the face". So therefore it has to be in there. Plus, it has a fantastic groove.
And for The Halfway Point, I'll be playing some songs by my bro Rudy in Ontario. You can hear some of his songs
here
But I'm also preparing the songs for Saturday's Ear Candy show.
Last week's "loose theme" was St Patrick's Day, of course, and so I played some songs by Irish bands, songs about Ireland, and some songs that just kind of sounded Irish. Played some Therapy?, "Celtic Aggression" by Tonic, "Hot Asphalt" by Bedlam Rovers, a few other songs.
This week, it's politics. Mostly because the rumor flying around is that Obama is coming to Medford. I have some real gems for this one. "Rappin Ron Reagan". Anyone remember that? Released during Reagan's second race for pres, it's screamingly funny. "Politician" of course, by Cream. "Map of Your Failure" by Big Chief. That's not officially a politics song, but it has a line about "Kissing hands and shaking babies til I turn gray in the face". So therefore it has to be in there. Plus, it has a fantastic groove.
And for The Halfway Point, I'll be playing some songs by my bro Rudy in Ontario. You can hear some of his songs
here
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
On the Air!!!
Jesus, that shit is fun. I don't know how many listeners there are on a college campus at 9 am on a Saturday, but I kind of don't care.
The Ear Candy show already has something of a structure to it. A good song to wake up to (like Slayer's "South of Heaven"), halfway through do the recordings of regular people playin and singin, something of a theme every week with music to match it (not a crushing theme, just probably ten songs sprinkled in that adhere to it somehow), and the final station ID and heading out with a couple of cover songs. Throw in a little talking with someone, happening soon, and it's good clean fun.
I slipped last week. heh. I let two songs go that had words in that we aren't allowed to say. One had "shit" in it ("suppose... I accidently got my shit together") and another one that had "fucking" in it. What's weird is I listen to these two songs fairly often and the words just didn't even register til I was playing them on the air. lol!
I listened to KXLU and 91x a lot as a teenager. KROQ didn't come in where I lived, but the San Diego version of it did (91x). KWVE, out of San Clemente, was also in there and had a great late night show full of crazy music, but then they went to Christian programming at some point. So those are my radio influences. I loved the KWVE show. There was always a surprise to listen to. Drifting off at 1 am on a school night to Freur's "Doot Doot" song...
The Ear Candy show already has something of a structure to it. A good song to wake up to (like Slayer's "South of Heaven"), halfway through do the recordings of regular people playin and singin, something of a theme every week with music to match it (not a crushing theme, just probably ten songs sprinkled in that adhere to it somehow), and the final station ID and heading out with a couple of cover songs. Throw in a little talking with someone, happening soon, and it's good clean fun.
I slipped last week. heh. I let two songs go that had words in that we aren't allowed to say. One had "shit" in it ("suppose... I accidently got my shit together") and another one that had "fucking" in it. What's weird is I listen to these two songs fairly often and the words just didn't even register til I was playing them on the air. lol!
I listened to KXLU and 91x a lot as a teenager. KROQ didn't come in where I lived, but the San Diego version of it did (91x). KWVE, out of San Clemente, was also in there and had a great late night show full of crazy music, but then they went to Christian programming at some point. So those are my radio influences. I loved the KWVE show. There was always a surprise to listen to. Drifting off at 1 am on a school night to Freur's "Doot Doot" song...
Thursday, March 13, 2008
2 down
KBS Blues show #2 on KTEC is in the can. #1 was in the can, until I accidentally deleted it. So, beat me severely about the head and shoulders with damp macaroni til I scream, because we now have no record of the first show, and it's all my fault.
Also, Lady Low's Ear Candy Show will have it's inaugural broadcast either this saturday from 9 to 12 or next saturday from 9 to 12. It's supposed to be crapass snowing this weekend so my trip to the coast may be postponed, and if it is, I'll do the LLEC show instead.
LLEC promises to be interesting. I have a couple of fun people lined up to come on and tell us all about it.
Also, Lady Low's Ear Candy Show will have it's inaugural broadcast either this saturday from 9 to 12 or next saturday from 9 to 12. It's supposed to be crapass snowing this weekend so my trip to the coast may be postponed, and if it is, I'll do the LLEC show instead.
LLEC promises to be interesting. I have a couple of fun people lined up to come on and tell us all about it.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Toyota takes two!
I watch NASCAR with my Smart Half and with one of my friends. It's not my favorite racing series. I really enjoy GT and open-wheel races, but no one else likes to watch them with me so i tend to not watch them much.
But yesterday I got to holler and be goofy, because Toyota cars took first and second at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I got to yell "Wooooohoooo! Big Three got FACED!!!!" at a Chevy maniac. And even though my friend's driver, Tubby Stewart, got second, it was in a Toyota and I had to give miserable props for it.
Now, my guy in Nascar is Montoya. He's so wonderfully arrogant and he drives car 42, which we all know is the answer to life, the universe and everything. He didn't place as high as I would have liked yesterday. Last year he was in a Toyota and this year he's in a Dodge (aka MOPAR aka Move Over People Are Racing). He should go back to the Toyotas.
But yesterday I got to holler and be goofy, because Toyota cars took first and second at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I got to yell "Wooooohoooo! Big Three got FACED!!!!" at a Chevy maniac. And even though my friend's driver, Tubby Stewart, got second, it was in a Toyota and I had to give miserable props for it.
Now, my guy in Nascar is Montoya. He's so wonderfully arrogant and he drives car 42, which we all know is the answer to life, the universe and everything. He didn't place as high as I would have liked yesterday. Last year he was in a Toyota and this year he's in a Dodge (aka MOPAR aka Move Over People Are Racing). He should go back to the Toyotas.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Mother
Maybelle Carter... sit through the interview and you can see her do the famous Carter scratch on the geetar.
Ok that's it for this week i think. Food's on!
Ok that's it for this week i think. Food's on!
from 611 & The SOS in 1985 to this...
Calexico... Joey Burns singing, whom I had a huge crush on when I was a sophomore at Palos Verdes High School and he was a senior. Still love his music, too.
A little Gordie Johnson...
Gordie was the guitar player/vocalist for Big Sugar. This is him performing one of my favorite songs by them. One I'd actually been trying to learn for a while, and now I see why I was never able to nail it... capo... hehe.
I'll reserve Sundays for bombarding the world with this stuff...
I'll reserve Sundays for bombarding the world with this stuff...
80
Coming up on March 12 is the 80th anniversary of the failure of the St. Francis Dam
The Santa Clarita Valley history site has about all the information about it you'd possibly care to look for, from links to poems and songs about it, to pictures and interviews with people who survived the flood.
The Santa Clarita Valley history site has about all the information about it you'd possibly care to look for, from links to poems and songs about it, to pictures and interviews with people who survived the flood.
moremoremore
sharing my perversions...
Therapy? Die Laughing. I play this song a lot, I have an acoustic version of it that I jam on, love singing it, blah blah blah... adore Therapy?
Therapy? Die Laughing. I play this song a lot, I have an acoustic version of it that I jam on, love singing it, blah blah blah... adore Therapy?
riding away into the fog
Off to visit much missed friends again this weekend.
This means you, Wyrd. And Tam. And The Bone. And the Hoov, too.
The Blarney Bros are a-playin and since I have missed them at every St Patrick's Day deal, it's time I went and supported THAT friend, too.
This means you, Wyrd. And Tam. And The Bone. And the Hoov, too.
The Blarney Bros are a-playin and since I have missed them at every St Patrick's Day deal, it's time I went and supported THAT friend, too.
hope i'm done
having been sick since Christmas, with being hit with one cold after another, several times while the one cold was still very much active. The last one rolled through last week. I gave up on cold medicine. While it often helped, it was getting to be an expensive habit. My ribs and sides are so sore from coughing I feel like I've been kicked.
People are asking me if I feel alright. I feel better than I did yesterday, or last week, or even in the middle of January, but I am not yet back to normal. More than once out in public some friend or another has said, "Jesus! You look like crap!" Thanks! Just what a girl needs to hear. I'm so effing tired, too. I'm down five more pounds, which is okay, I just didn't lose it by eating well and exercising. But I have got to buy some new pants sometime soon.
People are asking me if I feel alright. I feel better than I did yesterday, or last week, or even in the middle of January, but I am not yet back to normal. More than once out in public some friend or another has said, "Jesus! You look like crap!" Thanks! Just what a girl needs to hear. I'm so effing tired, too. I'm down five more pounds, which is okay, I just didn't lose it by eating well and exercising. But I have got to buy some new pants sometime soon.
Back Door Slam in Bend again
On April 14. Going to try to make it up there again for this one.
I saw that the Subhumans were going to be in Bend. I was overjoyed! I started figuring out how I was going to be able to do two shows. Then I checked. Bah, it's just the UK Subhumans. While I like them, I'm not as excited about them as I am the CA Subhumans.
I saw that the Subhumans were going to be in Bend. I was overjoyed! I started figuring out how I was going to be able to do two shows. Then I checked. Bah, it's just the UK Subhumans. While I like them, I'm not as excited about them as I am the CA Subhumans.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
OK since the last one worked...
One of my !!!FAVORITE TOADIES SONGS EVAAAAAAAR!!!!!
The ones I really adore aren't on the site. They mostly came from the "Feeler" album that was not ever released... but I have it for some reason?
I have always loved Todd Lewis' voice. I love HOW he sings, his inflections and weird little yeahs and heys. He just has a really slippery voice and I love it, I love singing along with it. It makes me practice my growls and all that.
The ones I really adore aren't on the site. They mostly came from the "Feeler" album that was not ever released... but I have it for some reason?
I have always loved Todd Lewis' voice. I love HOW he sings, his inflections and weird little yeahs and heys. He just has a really slippery voice and I love it, I love singing along with it. It makes me practice my growls and all that.
tryin somethin new
This is Davy Knowles, the guitar player and singer in Back Door Slam.
We are just about peeing ourselves about having them come down here.
We are just about peeing ourselves about having them come down here.
Freakin Overjoyed
We got em. The Blues Society got Back Door Slam for our headlining act at our Blues Festival this year. These guys are SO AWESOME. Go check em out.
Back Door Slam
Back Door Slam
Thursday, March 06, 2008
whew
Just successfully did the blues society's first radio show, along with Paul, one of our guitar players. Didn't say much because we were getting the hang of all the buttons and everything, and there was only a little bit of dead air.
We recorded the show and I suppose over the weekend a recording will be available :)
We recorded the show and I suppose over the weekend a recording will be available :)
papers and pencils
Now officially a college student again. yikes.
I did really well on the reading and writing part of the placement test. I sucked on the math part. Put it this way- I scored 94 and 95 in reading and writing. The leftovers between 95 and 100 is right around what I got on the math part.
damn that's funny.
I did really well on the reading and writing part of the placement test. I sucked on the math part. Put it this way- I scored 94 and 95 in reading and writing. The leftovers between 95 and 100 is right around what I got on the math part.
damn that's funny.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Three is a magic number
Today I sent my transcript requests off to the two colleges I attended previously. Which is pointless, because although I was never on academic probation, I failed miserably. But, they said I had to do this. So, it is done.
Thursday I will take my English and Math placement exams.
The local college does not have a degree in what I want. But they have an AA. They also have this thing called Technical Studies, which appears to be a sort of build-your-own degree, but I'm not sure because, really, the language describing it doesn't actually SAY anything. Just a bunch of big eduwords strung together and taking up a page in the catalog. If I was at all interested in paramedical services or health care, I'd be in a great place. It isn't my thing at all though. I suppose I just don't really have enough empathy to work in that industry. Or maybe it's too much empathy. Whatever.
We're falling further and further behind, and I'm just going to have to suck it up and get financial aid to do this. It's hard to find good full-time work when the Help Wanted page is all of a column and a half.
I will start my first semester here in the spring. Taking one class, the college success one. Obviously, I need it. Second one will be summer, and I think I will shoot for a little less than full-time.
I'm scatterbrained and disorganized and suck at math and I have GOT to find some way to overcome this whole issue of being easily bored, daydreaming in classes, disregarding deadlines and being totally unable to keep my shit together. You know, in other words, having the attention span of a common housefly.
I am both excited and terrified. I don't know if I can do the whole deal. How can I make myself work for me?
Thursday I will take my English and Math placement exams.
The local college does not have a degree in what I want. But they have an AA. They also have this thing called Technical Studies, which appears to be a sort of build-your-own degree, but I'm not sure because, really, the language describing it doesn't actually SAY anything. Just a bunch of big eduwords strung together and taking up a page in the catalog. If I was at all interested in paramedical services or health care, I'd be in a great place. It isn't my thing at all though. I suppose I just don't really have enough empathy to work in that industry. Or maybe it's too much empathy. Whatever.
We're falling further and further behind, and I'm just going to have to suck it up and get financial aid to do this. It's hard to find good full-time work when the Help Wanted page is all of a column and a half.
I will start my first semester here in the spring. Taking one class, the college success one. Obviously, I need it. Second one will be summer, and I think I will shoot for a little less than full-time.
I'm scatterbrained and disorganized and suck at math and I have GOT to find some way to overcome this whole issue of being easily bored, daydreaming in classes, disregarding deadlines and being totally unable to keep my shit together. You know, in other words, having the attention span of a common housefly.
I am both excited and terrified. I don't know if I can do the whole deal. How can I make myself work for me?
Monday, February 25, 2008
MMM yummy
Los Angeles has been named as having some of the best tasting water of any municipal water supply. I do remember the water there tasting pretty good, even in San Pedro, at the end of the line.
KF will never win such an award. The water here is so awful, and anything you cook with it tastes like the awful water, including coffee, tea, spaghetti, punch, whatever... no flavoring can hide it. The bad taste is so overwhelming it over rides everything. Even BAKING with it leaves a nasty taste in whatever you've baked. I'm thankful our fridge has a water thing that's filtered.
People I know who have lived here their whole lives don't notice it, but that was one of the first things I noticed here. blech.
KF will never win such an award. The water here is so awful, and anything you cook with it tastes like the awful water, including coffee, tea, spaghetti, punch, whatever... no flavoring can hide it. The bad taste is so overwhelming it over rides everything. Even BAKING with it leaves a nasty taste in whatever you've baked. I'm thankful our fridge has a water thing that's filtered.
People I know who have lived here their whole lives don't notice it, but that was one of the first things I noticed here. blech.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Dear politicians,
Stop telling us what we want. Shut up and listen to us tell YOU what we want, and then GET ON IT.
Friday, February 22, 2008
reached my limit
it happened last night at the jam. I finally can no longer stand to hear the same blues progressions played three or four times a week. I can no longer play them myself without getting ticked off about it. I can no longer stand hearing the blues at all, in fact. I can't stand to watch the same people playing the same stuff and never learning anything new. Three years, it took. I still want to be active in the society, but no... can't play it anymore.
I am bored to tears.
I am bored to tears.
Monday, February 11, 2008
finally did it
yesterday at our general membership meeting/jam, i finally strapped on a git and sang a song in public. Not my #1 hit song. The Stones' "Sweet Virginia".
It was pretty bad, to me at least. The point is that I did it. And anyone who sat out there on the floor and thought bad thoughts, well, fuck'em. They didn't do it, and they don't do it, and they can eat shit.
It was pretty bad, to me at least. The point is that I did it. And anyone who sat out there on the floor and thought bad thoughts, well, fuck'em. They didn't do it, and they don't do it, and they can eat shit.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
training and excitement
Did my OIT DJ training thing today. Easy peazy.
oh hey it's almost 5 am. I am now on track to a normal sleeping pattern again, hopefully. I've been falling asleep at like 10 pm and waking up between 4 and 6 am, and then find myself exhausted by 8 pm again. If i crash now, I'll wake up around 10 am. poifect
oh hey it's almost 5 am. I am now on track to a normal sleeping pattern again, hopefully. I've been falling asleep at like 10 pm and waking up between 4 and 6 am, and then find myself exhausted by 8 pm again. If i crash now, I'll wake up around 10 am. poifect
Saturday, February 09, 2008
smiley face
oh joy when i came home yesterday the street had been plowed. Wee!
And Thursday's jam was a good one. We played a lot of different stuff. I even sang a bit.
And Thursday's jam was a good one. We played a lot of different stuff. I even sang a bit.
Friday, February 08, 2008
breakin in
This Saturday I am going to the DJ training at OIT for their radio station. They had this last week, and several KBS members went, but I couldn't get the car out of the driveway. S0 they rescheduled it for those who couldn't make it.
I'm really looking forward to doing a blues show, and even more stoked about the prospect of getting a slot for myself.
I'm really looking forward to doing a blues show, and even more stoked about the prospect of getting a slot for myself.
traffic jam!
We had a pretty incredible clusterfuck on my street yesterday afternoon. Our street runs parallel to the main road, and to get onto it you have to make a couple of fast lefts. The 5 inches of packed snow that was its surface melted into mush yesterday afternoon. When I came home from doing some stuff, there was a Suburban with a trailer sort of blocking the intersection, and there were three cars in strange positions on the parallel road. No way I could get in. So I drove down to the park to turn around. This would make it so I could make a right onto the street. No dice. Still blocked. Went down a block to come up the back way, which is downhill, then a three-house straightaway, then a curve, then uphill and to get home i would just have to get up the little hill and kick a right.
Got stuck on the uphill part. Parked it, hit the hazards, walked up to the house to get the shovel. Two people had managed to get their cars out, thanks to a crew of guys in the white suburban who had... thank you very much... a heavy-duty winch. They were working on getting a 4wd suburban unstuck from the 3 feet of snow in the neighbors yard. When they were done, they took my shovel and ran down to the scootypuff and started shoveling it out. With their help pushing it, we got the puff up to the range of the winch and hooked it up, hauled it up the hill. Then they pushed it all the way to our driveway. There was absolutely no traction to be had.
So all that shit refroze last night, and this morning it's a nightmare of solid ice and woopdedoos. It's hard even getting the Fo through it in 4WDL with main gears in L. The puff won't be traveling today. There's no way in hell it'll go on the road out front. Once I'm done at work I will probably go out and try to do some shoveling on the road. Hopefully it will have melted a bit again by then. But at some point I'm calling the city to see if they can come by and plow these three roads- our road, the one it insersects with on the curve and the one where it meets the other main road. No one with a regular car can get in or out of their house right now, regardless of what kind of tires they have.
Got stuck on the uphill part. Parked it, hit the hazards, walked up to the house to get the shovel. Two people had managed to get their cars out, thanks to a crew of guys in the white suburban who had... thank you very much... a heavy-duty winch. They were working on getting a 4wd suburban unstuck from the 3 feet of snow in the neighbors yard. When they were done, they took my shovel and ran down to the scootypuff and started shoveling it out. With their help pushing it, we got the puff up to the range of the winch and hooked it up, hauled it up the hill. Then they pushed it all the way to our driveway. There was absolutely no traction to be had.
So all that shit refroze last night, and this morning it's a nightmare of solid ice and woopdedoos. It's hard even getting the Fo through it in 4WDL with main gears in L. The puff won't be traveling today. There's no way in hell it'll go on the road out front. Once I'm done at work I will probably go out and try to do some shoveling on the road. Hopefully it will have melted a bit again by then. But at some point I'm calling the city to see if they can come by and plow these three roads- our road, the one it insersects with on the curve and the one where it meets the other main road. No one with a regular car can get in or out of their house right now, regardless of what kind of tires they have.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Eyes peeled
Yeah, it's time to look for another job. I'm not very happy with this one. I don't get information I need and then get chewed on for not having the info. I don't get things I need to do the job, when I ask for them.
This is the first thing I've done with retail, ever. Now I understand why I stayed away from it.
This is the first thing I've done with retail, ever. Now I understand why I stayed away from it.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
mystery shipwreck
A 35-foot wooden ship has come forth from the dunes just south of the New Carissa wreck. There are some great pictures at the World paper.
hookey
I didn't go to work today. I have a perfectly valid reason. Too damn scary on the 97. It's like a washboard road covered in ice today. When the road is crappy and scary to me, I get all wigged out at work and am in kind of non-stop constant state of freaked out about driving. That, in turn, makes me extremely tired and then the drive home is just me at redline terrified. Full-blown panic attack for 75 miles. Good times!
So yeah, screw that. It just isn't a good idea to drive on Valium, either.
So yeah, screw that. It just isn't a good idea to drive on Valium, either.
out
our blues society board member elections are next weekend. I'm stepping down as secretary. I just don't have the organizational skills for it. I tried valiantly for three years. I am going to try to stay on as a board member at large and just do stuff.
In all honesty, I'm pretty bored with playing blues. Maybe if it wasn't the same blues I've been playing since we've been here i'd feel better about it. But since I'm just a bass player I don't have much say in what we play. And certain people insist that we play just like the recording. Ok well I haven't ever heard the recordings for about 80% of what we play and I'm not going to go and listen to stuff I don't particularly like just so I can make some purist happy. I don't even practice blues stuff when I'm home. I don't listen to it driving around. I go out of my way NOT to play it at home, actually.
I usually get to play with anyone new who shows up at the jam. Especially if its a new drummer. Some people would get all bent about that, but I don't mind. I see it as "someone has to keep the time" and since I do that very well, I always get to play with the new people. Also, I've been told that I wing it really well. Except on something like "Loan Me A Dime", which I've probably heard four times in my life and played once. That's my sticking point. If I haven't heard a song very many times, I can't even wing very well. I have to be able to have the song in my head all the way through. MOST blues is pretty easy to wing it on though.
And slow blues... let's not go there. Snore blues.
Last week, due to the weather, we had a pretty small turnout. One of the players suggested that we just throw a CD in and play along with it. I said I wasn't going to do that. It's one thing to sit at home and practice that way, but to get on stage and do it is so damn lame. It just stinks of karaoke somehow, or even worse, lip-synching. Plus, on a lot of recordings, the pitch is different than what our instruments are playing, even if we're all tuned and in the same key. I just think that's cheesy and usually sounds like shit. How the hell does someone play for 30 years and not hear that?
I'm really weird, I guess, about a bunch of stuff. I hate it when people tune on stage (through their amps). I hate it when people play stupid shit between songs (drummers are really bad about that). Both of those things just seem inconsiderate. No one wants to hear that shit. NO ONE. When we had our Christmas benefit, I asked that we please tell everyone to not tune on stage, because this was a big thing and it should be at least semi-professional. One guy said "oh, my guitar is cold when I get there and the only time I can tune is on stage." Bullshit, I called. Get there earlier and use a fucking tuner, jackass.
In all honesty, I'm pretty bored with playing blues. Maybe if it wasn't the same blues I've been playing since we've been here i'd feel better about it. But since I'm just a bass player I don't have much say in what we play. And certain people insist that we play just like the recording. Ok well I haven't ever heard the recordings for about 80% of what we play and I'm not going to go and listen to stuff I don't particularly like just so I can make some purist happy. I don't even practice blues stuff when I'm home. I don't listen to it driving around. I go out of my way NOT to play it at home, actually.
I usually get to play with anyone new who shows up at the jam. Especially if its a new drummer. Some people would get all bent about that, but I don't mind. I see it as "someone has to keep the time" and since I do that very well, I always get to play with the new people. Also, I've been told that I wing it really well. Except on something like "Loan Me A Dime", which I've probably heard four times in my life and played once. That's my sticking point. If I haven't heard a song very many times, I can't even wing very well. I have to be able to have the song in my head all the way through. MOST blues is pretty easy to wing it on though.
And slow blues... let's not go there. Snore blues.
Last week, due to the weather, we had a pretty small turnout. One of the players suggested that we just throw a CD in and play along with it. I said I wasn't going to do that. It's one thing to sit at home and practice that way, but to get on stage and do it is so damn lame. It just stinks of karaoke somehow, or even worse, lip-synching. Plus, on a lot of recordings, the pitch is different than what our instruments are playing, even if we're all tuned and in the same key. I just think that's cheesy and usually sounds like shit. How the hell does someone play for 30 years and not hear that?
I'm really weird, I guess, about a bunch of stuff. I hate it when people tune on stage (through their amps). I hate it when people play stupid shit between songs (drummers are really bad about that). Both of those things just seem inconsiderate. No one wants to hear that shit. NO ONE. When we had our Christmas benefit, I asked that we please tell everyone to not tune on stage, because this was a big thing and it should be at least semi-professional. One guy said "oh, my guitar is cold when I get there and the only time I can tune is on stage." Bullshit, I called. Get there earlier and use a fucking tuner, jackass.
overtime
big props to the city guys who have been trying so hard to get the streets navigable again. There has been a crew working on my street since last night. Sometime yesterday evening they found our mailboxes for us. lol. Not only were they buried under snow, but when the plows came by, even more got piled on top of what was already there. They've got the berms out of the middle of most of the roads. Our streets are as wide as they're supposed to be in most places.
My only beef is the ruts. It's like a slotcar track out there. And once you're in them, good luck getting out to change lanes or whatever.
My only beef is the ruts. It's like a slotcar track out there. And once you're in them, good luck getting out to change lanes or whatever.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
beat beat from head to feet
A big part of my job is driving. From one store to the other. Normally, it isn't so bad. But today really sucked ass. Yesterday the snow on the roads had melted a lot, and then the whole mess refroze overnight. The whole town is like a rutted, washboard backroad. You get thrown all over the road, stuck behind people who are, I guess, concerned about their suspension- it's that crappy. If the suspension on the Fo wasn't already toast, I'd probably be worried about it too.
Monday, February 04, 2008
bringin down the roof
The Egyptian Plaza in downtown KF had its roof fall in from the snow on it.
It used to be a Ford dealership, and was decorated with bas relief (i think that's the word) Egyptian art on the face and on the column fittings inside. I had not had an opportunity to see the inside except from the outside. Not sure, but I think it was built in the '20s, when Egyptian derived art and architecture was popular. Last year someone had the exterior restored and they opened it up as a banquet hall/event center thing. I understand it had horrible acoustics.
There have been a couple of roof collapses in town the last two days.
It used to be a Ford dealership, and was decorated with bas relief (i think that's the word) Egyptian art on the face and on the column fittings inside. I had not had an opportunity to see the inside except from the outside. Not sure, but I think it was built in the '20s, when Egyptian derived art and architecture was popular. Last year someone had the exterior restored and they opened it up as a banquet hall/event center thing. I understand it had horrible acoustics.
There have been a couple of roof collapses in town the last two days.
how lame of me
I sometimes have crises of conscience at work. I often can't stand that I'm putting all of this "food" on the shelf for people. And so much of it is deceptive. "Healthy" snacks full of unpronounceable crap and refined sugars, like the "meal-replacement" bars and energy bars. Clif is the one I've seen that I would be ok with eating. That's one out of probably 50 brands and types I stock. All the snack food loaded with salt, the perishable (refridgerated deli) foods with two, three and four-week self lives. That's disgusting.
The lady I often work with is a year younger than me and already has a problem with high blood pressure. I'm not even 40 yet. She isn't heavy or overweight by any means.
I'm meeting a lot of people who are right around my age with problems like high blood pressure. That's crazy! I think of it as an "old person's disease" but then there's my dad, skidding in to 70, in near-perfect health, shacked up with a Thai woman literally half his age. Go, dad!
Seems like everyone I know over 45 is diabetic or teetering on the edge of it. Mom has stopped the progression of her diabetes in its tracks. Go, Mom!
The lady I often work with is a year younger than me and already has a problem with high blood pressure. I'm not even 40 yet. She isn't heavy or overweight by any means.
I'm meeting a lot of people who are right around my age with problems like high blood pressure. That's crazy! I think of it as an "old person's disease" but then there's my dad, skidding in to 70, in near-perfect health, shacked up with a Thai woman literally half his age. Go, dad!
Seems like everyone I know over 45 is diabetic or teetering on the edge of it. Mom has stopped the progression of her diabetes in its tracks. Go, Mom!
and finally
Just wanted to throw out a "congratulations" for the queer folk of Oregon for finally having one of your basic human rights acknowledged by the state.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Gone!
The little fence that goes around our house is completely covered in the front yard. If anyone can get to the mailboxes for our block, I'll bring out some brownies for them. Car went missing again. Its out there somewhere. I do believe that if I fell off the front porch, I'd be lost, as well. Going to find the phone and go and take some more cell phone pics.
Rider- I'm sad I'm not invited :(
Rider- I'm sad I'm not invited :(
Saturday, February 02, 2008
oh and then this
I just wanted to share something kinda funny.
In my travels around the town lately, I have seen some people stuck in the snow. You know who I see stuck in the snow the most? Big, lifted 4x4s with knobby tires. You know why they're stuck in the snow? They get cocky. It seems they forget about this thing called "high centering". They forget (or never knew) that on most 4wd vehicles, it really is only 2wd. One front drive wheel and one opposite rear drive wheel. If you run your giant idiotmobile into a drift in a lifted 4wd and can't get it out, you deserve to walk.
You know who I don't see stuck? Old timers. People who grew up here. Folks who live on ranches. And drive around in their 10-year-old Lincoln Continentals or 40-year-old pick-em-up trucks. Guys with dirty cowboy hats and short hair. And its often these folks I see out trying to help the giant idiotmobiles out of whatever mess they drove themselves into. And shaking their heads and smiling all the while. I love it.
In my travels around the town lately, I have seen some people stuck in the snow. You know who I see stuck in the snow the most? Big, lifted 4x4s with knobby tires. You know why they're stuck in the snow? They get cocky. It seems they forget about this thing called "high centering". They forget (or never knew) that on most 4wd vehicles, it really is only 2wd. One front drive wheel and one opposite rear drive wheel. If you run your giant idiotmobile into a drift in a lifted 4wd and can't get it out, you deserve to walk.
You know who I don't see stuck? Old timers. People who grew up here. Folks who live on ranches. And drive around in their 10-year-old Lincoln Continentals or 40-year-old pick-em-up trucks. Guys with dirty cowboy hats and short hair. And its often these folks I see out trying to help the giant idiotmobiles out of whatever mess they drove themselves into. And shaking their heads and smiling all the while. I love it.
The friend that will help
One of my friends is moving out of her little place. Little, as in, it was most likely the laundry room for the trailer park it's in, at one time. We went and looked at her new place, and I think I'm more excited than she is. "I'm so stoked you're getting this place! I can clean out my garage now!" meaning that some of the furniture we have that has no home IN our house will have a home now in hers. And the Avon boxes.. finally... these are going, too.
Well, anyway, she's excited to be getting a breakfast nook dining table, a bookshelf, free boxes, a computer desk and a computer to put on it. And whatever else I can haul out for her.
Well, anyway, she's excited to be getting a breakfast nook dining table, a bookshelf, free boxes, a computer desk and a computer to put on it. And whatever else I can haul out for her.
Why I babble so about the snow
It's still a relatively new experience for me. This is my third winter here. Had I a blog when I first moved to Coos Bay, I would have babbled about all the rain for a while.
But I gotta say, Holy Cow, when will it stop? We've had snow every day for almost two weeks. More snow predicted for the next two weeks, except I think there's a one-day break in there.
I have only wiped out twice so far this year. No injuries :P I saw a dude wipe out pretty bad walking across a street a couple of days ago. At least traffic stopped for him.
Anyway on the shopping list for next year will be two pairs of snowboots with tread, or some of those ice biters they make, or something. More thermals. A snow shovel (someone I know has two, so they lent us one).
There is enough snow at the edges of our driveway that when I came home last night, I struggled to get the door of the Scootypuff open so I could get out.
We had a big plow berm where our street meets the main road. One of the neighbors came home over it one afternoon and lost it, ended up sliding sideways down the street. He ended up calling someone out to plow here so we could get in and out. It's hard getting to the houses in any direction, actually.
But I gotta say, Holy Cow, when will it stop? We've had snow every day for almost two weeks. More snow predicted for the next two weeks, except I think there's a one-day break in there.
I have only wiped out twice so far this year. No injuries :P I saw a dude wipe out pretty bad walking across a street a couple of days ago. At least traffic stopped for him.
Anyway on the shopping list for next year will be two pairs of snowboots with tread, or some of those ice biters they make, or something. More thermals. A snow shovel (someone I know has two, so they lent us one).
There is enough snow at the edges of our driveway that when I came home last night, I struggled to get the door of the Scootypuff open so I could get out.
We had a big plow berm where our street meets the main road. One of the neighbors came home over it one afternoon and lost it, ended up sliding sideways down the street. He ended up calling someone out to plow here so we could get in and out. It's hard getting to the houses in any direction, actually.
Yummmay!!!!
I finally found a tasty little thing to drink that has no yucky stuff in it and is a nice break from Orange Juice and Apple Juice. V8 Fusions Pomegranate-Berry. ZOMG!11! I like normal V8 but i always have to water it down because it is SOOOOO salty to me. I grabbed this stuff one day in the deepest throes of the cold and had a wee little moment of glee when i noticed there was no HFCS in it, or any other added sugars. Tastes rillyrilly good, too.
So, yeah, a "health drink" that really is healthy. Bitchen.
So, yeah, a "health drink" that really is healthy. Bitchen.
Friday, February 01, 2008
and on looking upwards...
ok in the yard we have close to four feet of snow built up over the last few weeks.
On the roof... jeez.. i have to figure out how we're going to get some of it off the roof of the house and the garage. Probably will call the landlord today when I'm done working (on a break now) and see if they will send someone out to do it. A good foot and a half on the southern side. A little less on the northern one. another 10 inches predicted tomorrow.
Our place was build in the 20s. From what I understand, heavy snow was more common then than it has been in the last couple of decades. MAYBE the roof can handle the snow load. but it sure would suck if it couldn't. At least it's not a flat roof. It's got a pretty good slope on it.
But even if I had a ladder, you'd be hard pressed to get me up on the ladder to rake it off.
On the roof... jeez.. i have to figure out how we're going to get some of it off the roof of the house and the garage. Probably will call the landlord today when I'm done working (on a break now) and see if they will send someone out to do it. A good foot and a half on the southern side. A little less on the northern one. another 10 inches predicted tomorrow.
Our place was build in the 20s. From what I understand, heavy snow was more common then than it has been in the last couple of decades. MAYBE the roof can handle the snow load. but it sure would suck if it couldn't. At least it's not a flat roof. It's got a pretty good slope on it.
But even if I had a ladder, you'd be hard pressed to get me up on the ladder to rake it off.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
slower than granny
Hey guys the roads around Klamath are downright scary today, and last night as well. There was a big, bad accident on the 97 near the downtown northbound onramp last night that had it blocked off for five hours from Mollie's to the Green Springs exit.
parts of the 140 are closed due to big drifts on the road.
it's ok to drive slow! Your 4wd won't do you much good unless you have good rubber on the wheels, ok? We got more coming. Don't be in a hurry. Tell you boss to pound sand if you're late because of weather and he/she bitches. I know it took me an hour just to get OUT of town yesterday morning because of plows.
parts of the 140 are closed due to big drifts on the road.
it's ok to drive slow! Your 4wd won't do you much good unless you have good rubber on the wheels, ok? We got more coming. Don't be in a hurry. Tell you boss to pound sand if you're late because of weather and he/she bitches. I know it took me an hour just to get OUT of town yesterday morning because of plows.
continuing to not eat High Fructose Corn Syrup
I know this stuff slips by me here and there sometimes. But in general, I've been reading my labels and avoiding it. Franz bakeries makes some fantastic bread, and now they are making it without HFCS. It also looks like they've stopped using enriched and bleached flours. Yay!
But, since I stopped eating this stuff in the large quantities that I was before (blissfully unaware it was in almost everything I ate...) I don't crave sweets anymore. I also don't feel hungry all the time.
I'm a member of a certain bulletin board full of women, and there are always questions about losing weight. There are always people going on and on about this diet or that diet, or things like Nutrisystem. Frankly I can't believe how much money we throw at trying to lose weight, when from my own experience, removing this one ingredient and its derivatives from my diet has produced some pretty drastic changes, both in my weight and how I feel from day-to-day.
Pounds lost since the end of September to the last time I weighed myself on 1/18- 16. Remember, I've done nothing but get some exercise and remove HFCS.
But, since I stopped eating this stuff in the large quantities that I was before (blissfully unaware it was in almost everything I ate...) I don't crave sweets anymore. I also don't feel hungry all the time.
I'm a member of a certain bulletin board full of women, and there are always questions about losing weight. There are always people going on and on about this diet or that diet, or things like Nutrisystem. Frankly I can't believe how much money we throw at trying to lose weight, when from my own experience, removing this one ingredient and its derivatives from my diet has produced some pretty drastic changes, both in my weight and how I feel from day-to-day.
Pounds lost since the end of September to the last time I weighed myself on 1/18- 16. Remember, I've done nothing but get some exercise and remove HFCS.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Today's most often heard phrase ...
... was "holy crap". At every one of my stops, at least one person would look out a window and exclaim "holy crap!" or "Holy shit!". Why? Because it's been snowing really hard all freakin day long. It's finally stopped, and on coming home it was my turn to exclaim "Holy Shit!" because our fence is almost buried, now.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
My #1 hit song
In 2005 i had an adventure in Ontario, OR. Then I wrote a song about it. A pretty damn stupid song, actually. I recorded it, threw it on a CD, and sent it to the person who had the adventure with me. Also sent it to another friend on the coast.
Both of these folks loved it, and learned it, and play it. They play it all the time for other people. Other people ask them to play it. It is even being sung at one of the middle schools on the coast (kind of alarming, but what the hell...). Both of them tell me that whenever they play it for people, the people love it. One of them recorded his own version of it ( he sent me a text message, "I covered your song!")
I really can't believe people love this song as much as these two tell me they do.
So then, tonight, I played it for one of the blues society guys. He works for a major music distributor. Even he liked it. He said I have a good grip on how I space my words out.
I just think, "man, you guys have GOT to be kidding. It's the dumbest song in the whole world". But there you have it.
A song about getting wasted and getting arrested is popular on the southwest coast, and in the northeast corner of the state. Now gaining popularity down here in 'Bama. And I wrote it. Too strange.
I suppose this means I will have to soon create a new myspace thing in the music section with it, and throw a couple of my other songs up there, too. I don't have it uploaded anywhere anymore.
Both of these folks loved it, and learned it, and play it. They play it all the time for other people. Other people ask them to play it. It is even being sung at one of the middle schools on the coast (kind of alarming, but what the hell...). Both of them tell me that whenever they play it for people, the people love it. One of them recorded his own version of it ( he sent me a text message, "I covered your song!")
I really can't believe people love this song as much as these two tell me they do.
So then, tonight, I played it for one of the blues society guys. He works for a major music distributor. Even he liked it. He said I have a good grip on how I space my words out.
I just think, "man, you guys have GOT to be kidding. It's the dumbest song in the whole world". But there you have it.
A song about getting wasted and getting arrested is popular on the southwest coast, and in the northeast corner of the state. Now gaining popularity down here in 'Bama. And I wrote it. Too strange.
I suppose this means I will have to soon create a new myspace thing in the music section with it, and throw a couple of my other songs up there, too. I don't have it uploaded anywhere anymore.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Short lines and a caboose
There is a short-line rail company here, the Modoc Northern, that started up right around when we moved to KF. I think it runs the potato route- Klamath and Tulelake, Altamont and a couple of other towns, although I have never seen one of their trains in Klamath. So maybe they don't come this far north. Last week one of their trains was at the siding in Tulelake and I really wish I'd had a good camera with me. The thing had a caboose. A caboose! When's the last time anyone's seen a freakin caboose on a working train? The locomotive looked like it was probably about 30 or 40 years old. It's hard to tell with them, all i can do is go off "the lines", and this one looked very 50s. It didn't have the electric/diesel hybrid though. Straight diesel.
I'll see it again. Next time, I'll have a camera.
I'll see it again. Next time, I'll have a camera.
numbers and letters
yay we got our tax forms so we can start dealing with that now. Once again, H&R Block can shove it. Never using them again. One of the store owners I see every week has a daughter that got her taxes done this year through them and got the nice little card, with all kinds of nice little charges on it every time she uses it. $3 a pop. Just so you know....
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Girl with film
Long before my digital camera started acting up and taking weird, fuzzy pictures, i got bored with digital. My problem was that each of my film cameras had something wrong with them. One only takes pictures at 1/3200. One jams when you try to advance it. One scrapes a big line across the film, all the way through it. So my issue was usually, "Which one is going to piss me off the least?"
None.. as it happens. Smart Half's mom sent me an older Minolta 7000 Maxxus AF. for a b-day present. It has a bayonet style body, and all my lenses are screw-type, but adapters are available. Hells yeah. i totally have to learn to use this, it's all automatic. My film cameras are all strictly manual. That was great for learning how to manipulate light and grain for black and white. I am wondering if it has a switch for killing all the automatic features...
I also have to go prowling around for film for my two ancient (early '20s) box cameras and a second or third gen Brownie. I must have 15 other cameras besides my three main bodies, all with hard to find film sizes. The only one I don't have, I think, is a disk camera. Had one, though :P
None.. as it happens. Smart Half's mom sent me an older Minolta 7000 Maxxus AF. for a b-day present. It has a bayonet style body, and all my lenses are screw-type, but adapters are available. Hells yeah. i totally have to learn to use this, it's all automatic. My film cameras are all strictly manual. That was great for learning how to manipulate light and grain for black and white. I am wondering if it has a switch for killing all the automatic features...
I also have to go prowling around for film for my two ancient (early '20s) box cameras and a second or third gen Brownie. I must have 15 other cameras besides my three main bodies, all with hard to find film sizes. The only one I don't have, I think, is a disk camera. Had one, though :P
beyond and back
friday i worked and then went to leave town. Ran the car into a snow drift and killed an hour digging it out. That kind of thing only happens, of course, when you are in a hurry to go somewhere. Got down the mountain and arrived safely up in Junction Shitty (all towns in Oregon have nicknames. Get over it). Djeef had his fabalus spaghetti waiting, and then we sat up in his drum room until the wee hours, talking, drinking, looking at some photo albums and listening to music. Up and out in the morning, we arrived in Booze Bay and had to convince Tam to come because she didn't want to arrive late, and it was now the Start Time. We all got to jam a couple of songs. It was interesting to see that most of the people who were playing are still playing, and playing the same tired, boring crap. Is it so fucking hard to learn a new song every year? Jeez. Some were still obsequious, some were still condescending assholes, some still the finest people on earth. Good to be home. Around dark, the cold hit me. Just slammed me. So much for having a few drinks or whatever. Knocked me right out. Sunday I spent being a miserable companion, but we watched "Metalocalypse" season one probably six times and that's always funny. Monday, the cold was kicking my ass, and still I had to get Djeef back to JC and make a stop in Methford before shuffling through the doorway at home.
Spent all weekend driving. It's ok. It was a good time. Goodbye Jim!
Spent all weekend driving. It's ok. It was a good time. Goodbye Jim!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Another huge step on the six-string
I have been mostly working with fingerpicking on my acoustic guitars. I use a pick for strumming but never have been able to pick out single notes quickly with a pick.
On Wednesday I was jamming with those five other guitar players and the mandolin, and I was strumming away, and then.. I started playing single notes with a pick. Arpeggios. This is a big step for me. I can actually do single note picking ok if i'm moving laterally along the neck, but moving from the low E to the high E has just stumped me. But there I was, doing it. I about squealed. It wasn't particularly precise, but the arpeggios were recognizable. So I'm pretty thrilled about that.
On Wednesday I was jamming with those five other guitar players and the mandolin, and I was strumming away, and then.. I started playing single notes with a pick. Arpeggios. This is a big step for me. I can actually do single note picking ok if i'm moving laterally along the neck, but moving from the low E to the high E has just stumped me. But there I was, doing it. I about squealed. It wasn't particularly precise, but the arpeggios were recognizable. So I'm pretty thrilled about that.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
it sucks, but...
sometimes i really roll on the bitching about living in Klamabama.. and you who read here don't even see the half of it. I was livid today by the time i got the damn tires on the car around 4 pm.
But on cold mornings, when the farms are buried in snow, and the ice coats the trees, and you see a bald eagle or two or three on Stateline road in the trees, or out on the frozen water, it ain't so bad. The sky is an impossible blue and everything else is black or white or a combination of the two, with some added color of a red or green barn, or the "Wong Potatoes" sign on Highway 39 (I always wonder if there might be a "Wight Potatoes" somewhere nearby). And the Scootypuff barrels through feet of snow with no effort, redeeming itself, and I get to giggle at monster, lifted, lugged out Ford F1billions high centered on a berm i just barreled over, and the neighbors little yapper dogs run crazily through the snowy yard, yapping.. yeah, it isn't so bad. When I get to come home on Wednesdays and go to a friends house, and there are five guitars playing and a mandolin, with a roaring fire in the woodstove and the Anubis dog wacking all of us with her tail, it ain't so bad at all.
2008 we celebrate a root- a noble root. The root that fed people through generations, in the New World and the Old. The root that died and forced a huge population to pull up stakes and come to this country. The root that once had 200,000 acres dedicated to it in the State of Oregon.. the lowly potato. 2008 is the year of the potato.
Did you know that? How cool. Celebrate the tater this year! Dress one up and take it out, extoll it's centuries of feeding us, it's virtue of being storable for long periods with out refrigeration.
See ya when i get back from the Bay.
But on cold mornings, when the farms are buried in snow, and the ice coats the trees, and you see a bald eagle or two or three on Stateline road in the trees, or out on the frozen water, it ain't so bad. The sky is an impossible blue and everything else is black or white or a combination of the two, with some added color of a red or green barn, or the "Wong Potatoes" sign on Highway 39 (I always wonder if there might be a "Wight Potatoes" somewhere nearby). And the Scootypuff barrels through feet of snow with no effort, redeeming itself, and I get to giggle at monster, lifted, lugged out Ford F1billions high centered on a berm i just barreled over, and the neighbors little yapper dogs run crazily through the snowy yard, yapping.. yeah, it isn't so bad. When I get to come home on Wednesdays and go to a friends house, and there are five guitars playing and a mandolin, with a roaring fire in the woodstove and the Anubis dog wacking all of us with her tail, it ain't so bad at all.
2008 we celebrate a root- a noble root. The root that fed people through generations, in the New World and the Old. The root that died and forced a huge population to pull up stakes and come to this country. The root that once had 200,000 acres dedicated to it in the State of Oregon.. the lowly potato. 2008 is the year of the potato.
Did you know that? How cool. Celebrate the tater this year! Dress one up and take it out, extoll it's centuries of feeding us, it's virtue of being storable for long periods with out refrigeration.
See ya when i get back from the Bay.
novena
its the kind of morning where, if i were still Catholic, I'd be on my knees begging St Jude.
Something like,
Blessed St Jude, please ask God to smite the shit out of policies and procedures and parts desks and everything that stands in the way of having a set of goddamn tires installed in a timely matter.
Something like,
Blessed St Jude, please ask God to smite the shit out of policies and procedures and parts desks and everything that stands in the way of having a set of goddamn tires installed in a timely matter.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Come a little bit closer
Maila Numi is dead at 85. You may or may not remember her. Vampira
While I'm waaay to young to have ever seen the 1954 KABC stuff she did, my teenage years were dominated by a band who wrote a song about her, and I have only seen archival footage of her introducing some of the movies. I have watched "Plan 9 From Outer Space" more often than is probably healthy, as well.
Sing along...
"Two inch nails
Micro waist
With a pale white feline face
Inclination eyebrows to there"
While I'm waaay to young to have ever seen the 1954 KABC stuff she did, my teenage years were dominated by a band who wrote a song about her, and I have only seen archival footage of her introducing some of the movies. I have watched "Plan 9 From Outer Space" more often than is probably healthy, as well.
Sing along...
"Two inch nails
Micro waist
With a pale white feline face
Inclination eyebrows to there"
Monday, January 14, 2008
conehead cat
Oafus Maximus, aka Spot, had an expensive trip to the vet today. She had some gunk deep down in her ears and had created a hematoma on one of them from scratching at it. I thought it was ear mites so i went to put ear mite medicine in her ears and got it into one and then noticed the other one was swollen. That was Saturday afternoon, so i had to wait until this morning to take her in.
Good news is, for a cat born in '93, she's in really excellent health except for some arthritis in her hips, and the vet gave us some medicine to help relieve the pain from that so she can get around a little better.
This didn't put us back in the hole, but it made a big dent in what we have, but we still have some left over and can still get the tires we had to order... o i never mentioned that... we had to ORDER tires for the Fo because no one in town had any in stock. I couldn't believe it. Two different sizes came stock on the Fo for '92, and NEITHER were available around town. Lots of partial sets, but not 4. And people wonder why there are times that i just want to choke the crap out of any local-born I come across. Rural Oregonians, I love you guys, but the way you run some of your businesses often has much to be desired. I need to shut up- I've been here since '96. I know this stuff, I just forget.
But anyway, Spot has a cone on her head now. She has stitches in her ear. She doesn't look as pathetic as Py did with his little orange casts on his feet, but she just came over, sat next to me and gave me the look. She's pissed off at me. Well. *smirk*
Good news is, for a cat born in '93, she's in really excellent health except for some arthritis in her hips, and the vet gave us some medicine to help relieve the pain from that so she can get around a little better.
This didn't put us back in the hole, but it made a big dent in what we have, but we still have some left over and can still get the tires we had to order... o i never mentioned that... we had to ORDER tires for the Fo because no one in town had any in stock. I couldn't believe it. Two different sizes came stock on the Fo for '92, and NEITHER were available around town. Lots of partial sets, but not 4. And people wonder why there are times that i just want to choke the crap out of any local-born I come across. Rural Oregonians, I love you guys, but the way you run some of your businesses often has much to be desired. I need to shut up- I've been here since '96. I know this stuff, I just forget.
But anyway, Spot has a cone on her head now. She has stitches in her ear. She doesn't look as pathetic as Py did with his little orange casts on his feet, but she just came over, sat next to me and gave me the look. She's pissed off at me. Well. *smirk*
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Ramona's floats
aw! My favorite bakery in the world is closing one of its locations and the main one is teetering. San Pedro folks- don't let yourselves lose this place!! And if you have never been to Ramona's, GO! And if you happen to be in that area, GO! And don't miss Slavko's while your there.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Back from Bend
Man, what a couple of days we chose to head north for a show.
Back Door Slam is a GREAT band! I would totally pay money to see them again. Nice guys, too. If you see them playing in your town, GO SEE THEM! They are in Portland tonight somewhere. Go to their website to see where. They're very organic sounding. I don't know how else to put it. There were effects on the singer's voice, but they didn't change how his voice sounded, really. Good sound guy... Anyway, all three of them are very, very good musicians and the oldest one is 20, I guess. They've chosen a great selection of songs to cover and they have some fine originals, too.
The opening band started with "Roadhouse Blues". If I was opening for these guys, I would have chosen a less shitty song to start with. I would have gone with a recognizable song that isn't so overplayed. Overplayed badly.
Got to Bend last night about 6:30 and headed to Grover's to have pizza and visit with a friend who was setting up the jam there. While waiting for the food, some of us headed over to the "Westward Ho" hotel to get a room. They actually had a room that all seven of us were able to sleep in... two bathrooms, three queen sized beds, 2 cots and a bunk bed. Awesome. It was starting to snow about then.
Headed to the Domino Room by about 7:15 to meet the band and all that. The show ended at 11, and we went back to Grover's to jam with the Bend contingent. It was blizzardy. Got back to the hotel, played some tunes on the acoustics and then we all crashed around 3:30 am or so.
On the road this morning at around 10. Heard from a trucker in LaPine that there were nine trucks off the road between LaPine and Klamath. Haw. I figured he was exaggerating. But no, we counted, and really, there were ten trucks off the road and we got to see someone in a little car slide into a snowbank just south of Modoc Point.
There were spots of the 97 where we were lucky to see 50 feet ahead of us.
So I had a pretty cool little birthday dealie.
Back Door Slam is a GREAT band! I would totally pay money to see them again. Nice guys, too. If you see them playing in your town, GO SEE THEM! They are in Portland tonight somewhere. Go to their website to see where. They're very organic sounding. I don't know how else to put it. There were effects on the singer's voice, but they didn't change how his voice sounded, really. Good sound guy... Anyway, all three of them are very, very good musicians and the oldest one is 20, I guess. They've chosen a great selection of songs to cover and they have some fine originals, too.
The opening band started with "Roadhouse Blues". If I was opening for these guys, I would have chosen a less shitty song to start with. I would have gone with a recognizable song that isn't so overplayed. Overplayed badly.
Got to Bend last night about 6:30 and headed to Grover's to have pizza and visit with a friend who was setting up the jam there. While waiting for the food, some of us headed over to the "Westward Ho" hotel to get a room. They actually had a room that all seven of us were able to sleep in... two bathrooms, three queen sized beds, 2 cots and a bunk bed. Awesome. It was starting to snow about then.
Headed to the Domino Room by about 7:15 to meet the band and all that. The show ended at 11, and we went back to Grover's to jam with the Bend contingent. It was blizzardy. Got back to the hotel, played some tunes on the acoustics and then we all crashed around 3:30 am or so.
On the road this morning at around 10. Heard from a trucker in LaPine that there were nine trucks off the road between LaPine and Klamath. Haw. I figured he was exaggerating. But no, we counted, and really, there were ten trucks off the road and we got to see someone in a little car slide into a snowbank just south of Modoc Point.
There were spots of the 97 where we were lucky to see 50 feet ahead of us.
So I had a pretty cool little birthday dealie.
Monday, January 07, 2008
0 the birthday
we went and saw "I Am Legend" last night. It was pretty cool. I will have to go rent "Omega Man" now, too.
One thing left me unsatisfied, and looking to see if this was all a book to begin with so I can maybe get some satisfaction.
The darkseeker that came after Smith's character when he trapped a female was seen again a couple more times. That left me wondering things. Like, did Neville trap his mate? Is that a concept the darkseekers had left of their humanity? Did that male darkseeker go after Neville because he took his mate? Was it even his mate? Am I reading too much into this?
Just some things that I was wondering about.
I have to say the movie was one that kept me looking at the screen, waiting for something to happen. Not waiting in a bad way, but you just knew something was about to happen, even when it really wasn't.
It was a pretty bleak movie. Even with the little kernel of hope thrown in at the end.
One thing left me unsatisfied, and looking to see if this was all a book to begin with so I can maybe get some satisfaction.
The darkseeker that came after Smith's character when he trapped a female was seen again a couple more times. That left me wondering things. Like, did Neville trap his mate? Is that a concept the darkseekers had left of their humanity? Did that male darkseeker go after Neville because he took his mate? Was it even his mate? Am I reading too much into this?
Just some things that I was wondering about.
I have to say the movie was one that kept me looking at the screen, waiting for something to happen. Not waiting in a bad way, but you just knew something was about to happen, even when it really wasn't.
It was a pretty bleak movie. Even with the little kernel of hope thrown in at the end.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Observe the snow! It fornicates!
I get to giggle all winter here. Back in high school, I read (and re-read and re-read and plum wore out) "The Straight Dope" by Cecil Adams. The two things in that book that I count as my favorites were the one about bilirubin and the one about all the Eskimo words for snow.
So, it snows, and I like to say "Observe the snow! It fornicates!" sometimes. And that's what makes me giggle.
So, it snows, and I like to say "Observe the snow! It fornicates!" sometimes. And that's what makes me giggle.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
two road trips woot@!
Monday to Bend for me birfday and then the weekend of the 19th out to Booze Bay for Jim. I think I'm looking forward to the Booze Bay trip more, because I'll be surrounded by old friends, best friends, great friends, teachers, mentors and my fellows in general. The group of people who welcomed me no matter that I was a Californian and a little on the odd side. I talked to Djeef today and we're both excited to hang out again. Talked to The Man So Nice They Named Him Twice yesterday. Haven't really gotten to talk to him much since long before we moved here. I'll be callin Tam tomorrow and yakkin her ear off, too. Can't wait to see her and the offspring, and the Hoov and Charlie, and all the riverfolk who will be there- Bihner and Pam and Al and LL and maybe the tiny redhead will be in town, too... and Mary and Francois and Nubbs and Spike and it'll be good to see Lindstrom if he's going to be there too.
Eh, the leather pants don't fit yet, but on my summer trip out there, they will. THEY WILL!!!!
Eh, the leather pants don't fit yet, but on my summer trip out there, they will. THEY WILL!!!!
Friday, January 04, 2008
dressin funny
There are a lot of pictures of me as a kid dressed in weird stuff. With Tupperware on my head, pantyhose on my head, tutus, cowboy outfits, one i specifically remember putting together and telling my mom it was a virgin mary costume.
Fabulous weather
A lot of people in McCloud were up in arms, squealing with glee or loudly grumbling when I was there on Wednesday. The rumor was that the NWS was predicting 8-10 feet of snow over the weekend. O Rly? Sounds fun!
I keep my eye on the weather down there because i DO have to drive in it. At least this is supposed to blow over by next Weds. As of last night, the prediction was blizzard conditions for that area, with heavy snow such that 89 might not be passable. Further to the southeast, Truckee was looking at, I guess, up to 10 inches per hour.
I bet the DWPs of points further south are drooling at the snowpack predictions.
Right now, in the lovely basin- and it really is gorgeous here in the winter- I'm looking at about 2 or three inches in the backyard that started coming down as slush around 8 am. all of the branches that blew off the trees last night are nearly covered over. I looked at the lake yesterday and it's frozen over. That just looks cool as a York.
Thrilling!
I keep my eye on the weather down there because i DO have to drive in it. At least this is supposed to blow over by next Weds. As of last night, the prediction was blizzard conditions for that area, with heavy snow such that 89 might not be passable. Further to the southeast, Truckee was looking at, I guess, up to 10 inches per hour.
I bet the DWPs of points further south are drooling at the snowpack predictions.
Right now, in the lovely basin- and it really is gorgeous here in the winter- I'm looking at about 2 or three inches in the backyard that started coming down as slush around 8 am. all of the branches that blew off the trees last night are nearly covered over. I looked at the lake yesterday and it's frozen over. That just looks cool as a York.
Thrilling!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
that secret life of neighbors thing
Is something that intrigues me. How you know certain people as certain things, because you deal with them regularly in that capacity only and that's how you know them. And then you come across them somewhere doing something else you never expected.
Found
I was digging around in the pocket of the down ski coat my dad gave me about a week ago and pulled out a pink ticket stub for the Pasadena Rose Parade in 1983. It was $15.
I don't remember going to this. I would have been 13. He must have gone with the third ex-wife. That was before they adopted my brother and sister.
Anyway, I'll scan this later.
Happy New Year!
I don't remember going to this. I would have been 13. He must have gone with the third ex-wife. That was before they adopted my brother and sister.
Anyway, I'll scan this later.
Happy New Year!
Ring it in with Woolly Bully
Just arrived safely back at the house. Not only was I part of the Partier Support Crew (as a member of a band providing entertainment) but I was the designated dumbass for the Smart Half, Phyllis and her husband. Yeah, I stayed sober on NYE. Holee shit. Nah, I hab a code, and drinkin sucks when you're sick. I just didn't want the double misery of a hangover AND aqualung-ness.
We jammed your standard 9-2 gig. I have to say, for having never practiced together, and for at various times only 3/5 of us knowing any particular song, we kicked righteous ass. At some point, I was thinking we had been playing an awful long time. Turns out we played two hours straight through.
I did a little dance all night. I was directly in the path to the bathroom. There was really nowhere else to go. There was a blast of arctic air that occasionally froze me on the spot.
I spotted the manager of one of the stores I deal with. Waved at him, but I figured since I was incognito that he wouldn't recognize me. He came up later on, "I know you from somewhere!". I said he sure did, and reminded him where from. It was one of those kind of cool conversations that's like, "the secret life of neighbors". He was stunned to see me doing this. How funny.
We jammed your standard 9-2 gig. I have to say, for having never practiced together, and for at various times only 3/5 of us knowing any particular song, we kicked righteous ass. At some point, I was thinking we had been playing an awful long time. Turns out we played two hours straight through.
I did a little dance all night. I was directly in the path to the bathroom. There was really nowhere else to go. There was a blast of arctic air that occasionally froze me on the spot.
I spotted the manager of one of the stores I deal with. Waved at him, but I figured since I was incognito that he wouldn't recognize me. He came up later on, "I know you from somewhere!". I said he sure did, and reminded him where from. It was one of those kind of cool conversations that's like, "the secret life of neighbors". He was stunned to see me doing this. How funny.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
two phrases I would like to see dead on the side of the road in 2008
"It's a perfect storm". About anything. I must see that phrase 6 or 7 times a day in the paper, or online.
"This is a wakeup call". And so was that other thing, and so were these 5000 other things.
Used in the same article... the journalist needs to go back to school and learn about "hackneyed, trite and cliche" writing. Often found in the same paragraph, renders the written piece in to unreadable mush.
I had an English teacher when I was a freshman in High School. He happened to also be the football coach. I remember him well.. Mr Marineau... the thing he pounded into our heads all the time, every single time he made us write a paper, was that he despised hackneyed, cliche and trite. And if he found that in a paper, man you could have an A paper otherwise, but if he deemed the paper to have any of that in it, you got an F. He was a great teacher. I hated his guts. He really made us write, though. Made us use our brains instead of hauling out some old tired trick.
"This is a wakeup call". And so was that other thing, and so were these 5000 other things.
Used in the same article... the journalist needs to go back to school and learn about "hackneyed, trite and cliche" writing. Often found in the same paragraph, renders the written piece in to unreadable mush.
I had an English teacher when I was a freshman in High School. He happened to also be the football coach. I remember him well.. Mr Marineau... the thing he pounded into our heads all the time, every single time he made us write a paper, was that he despised hackneyed, cliche and trite. And if he found that in a paper, man you could have an A paper otherwise, but if he deemed the paper to have any of that in it, you got an F. He was a great teacher. I hated his guts. He really made us write, though. Made us use our brains instead of hauling out some old tired trick.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
11 and counting
inches, in my backyard, on the ground. More today, tonight and tomorrow!
I love my backyard in the winter. It fills up with snow. The neighbor cats come through and they're the only thing that disturbs the snow. They have a certain path they follow, a little route through the yard. I can only tell this in the winter time. There are two cats that come through out to the driveway through the gate, and one who comes up along side of the garage. This I know because the feet prints are three different sizes. There is a set of dainty little feet that hops through the snow, a set of bigger ones that has a belly drag in a couple of places and just meanders around, and a set that belongs to a cat who really doesn't like the snow.. that cat spends a lot of time shaking its feet out as it walks along.
I love my backyard in the winter. It fills up with snow. The neighbor cats come through and they're the only thing that disturbs the snow. They have a certain path they follow, a little route through the yard. I can only tell this in the winter time. There are two cats that come through out to the driveway through the gate, and one who comes up along side of the garage. This I know because the feet prints are three different sizes. There is a set of dainty little feet that hops through the snow, a set of bigger ones that has a belly drag in a couple of places and just meanders around, and a set that belongs to a cat who really doesn't like the snow.. that cat spends a lot of time shaking its feet out as it walks along.
Friday, December 28, 2007
coming up
Monday after New Years is my birthday. Yay! So my friends are trying to get me to go to see this band up in Bend, but i have to work Tuesday morning and they want to stay the night up there.
I was kind of set on not going, but last night they had a CD with some of their stuff in it playing between sets. One of the songs was "Outside Woman Blues", which I'm familiar with through Cream. I was listening and though, "Wow, I've never heard this version of it, I wonder where K dug up the Cream demo?" only to find out it was back door slam. Sounded just like Cream. So, ok, I will probably go to this thing.
Also I'm consistently amazed at what a pompous ass one of our sax players is becoming.
And New Years Eve, a gig. This will be a wing and a prayer. I'm playing in the band i played in a couple of years ago, but only in the barest sense. They aren't the original band, and in fact we have not ever practiced together as the unit that's playing out there at the Watering Hole.
I was kind of set on not going, but last night they had a CD with some of their stuff in it playing between sets. One of the songs was "Outside Woman Blues", which I'm familiar with through Cream. I was listening and though, "Wow, I've never heard this version of it, I wonder where K dug up the Cream demo?" only to find out it was back door slam. Sounded just like Cream. So, ok, I will probably go to this thing.
Also I'm consistently amazed at what a pompous ass one of our sax players is becoming.
And New Years Eve, a gig. This will be a wing and a prayer. I'm playing in the band i played in a couple of years ago, but only in the barest sense. They aren't the original band, and in fact we have not ever practiced together as the unit that's playing out there at the Watering Hole.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
wha?!
Someone sent me an email this morning..
"Benazir Bhutto was shot dead! (i hate that phrase, btw..) This is exactly why I want Rudy G for President".
Actually I don't understand the connection they made, but whatever. So he can get "shot dead"? Is he going to prevent other women in politics from getting "shot dead" in places where women all pretty much have a bootprint on their foreheads?
No really. I don't understand what this person is trying to say.
"Benazir Bhutto was shot dead! (i hate that phrase, btw..) This is exactly why I want Rudy G for President".
Actually I don't understand the connection they made, but whatever. So he can get "shot dead"? Is he going to prevent other women in politics from getting "shot dead" in places where women all pretty much have a bootprint on their foreheads?
No really. I don't understand what this person is trying to say.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
and finish off the night with a little grumble
not like i haven't grumbled all day.
I had to get something out of the Fo this morning, on the passenger side. That's side that kissed the F150 the other day. Passenger door won't open without a lot of effort.
Y'know, the Little Red Truck got nailed in the same place and we had the same problem with it, that I was able to fix with a little bashing and pulling. This one, the flex is so slight, it's JUST ENOUGH to make the door really hard to open. dammit. I mean, when the door is closed you can't tell that it isn't fitting right.
But hey, that side had it's wheelwell cover shredded by a blow-out before we got it. When we get the fender fixed, they'll probably put a new plastic thing in there. And then I won't be able to show off my fix of its flapping that I did last winter with a Low E acoustic guitar string and an ice skate.
lol
I had to get something out of the Fo this morning, on the passenger side. That's side that kissed the F150 the other day. Passenger door won't open without a lot of effort.
Y'know, the Little Red Truck got nailed in the same place and we had the same problem with it, that I was able to fix with a little bashing and pulling. This one, the flex is so slight, it's JUST ENOUGH to make the door really hard to open. dammit. I mean, when the door is closed you can't tell that it isn't fitting right.
But hey, that side had it's wheelwell cover shredded by a blow-out before we got it. When we get the fender fixed, they'll probably put a new plastic thing in there. And then I won't be able to show off my fix of its flapping that I did last winter with a Low E acoustic guitar string and an ice skate.
lol
a brand new world
Jeebus i cant believe the difference siping makes. I was hard-pressed to slide around on my way home, and i really tried. There's a few places on my way home that you can screw around and test these things. The roads in town were mostly compacted, partially melted and refrozen snow and ice. I have to really stomp on the brakes to slide, and really crank the steering at speed to get a slide that way.
Friggin awesome.
Friggin awesome.
just like that
well it was decided for me. I went ahead and ventured forth in the Scootypuf, headin down 97 at a brisk 40 or so, and right around the goose hollow ranger station, slid off the road. At least it wasn't into a ditch. At least it wasn't into another vehicle, a power pole, or a tree. At least I didn't poop myself.
I've never completely lost control of a car I was in. There was no helping it. What a bizarre and terrifying feeling. Not even enough time to go "holy shit!". Driving along, then SHOOP! Into the snow. What a surprise. So I sat for a minute and figured out what to do. Called the other guy, let him know that I was turning around and going back home. Fiddled around getting out of the snow and headed back. He was cool with it and said it was pretty crappy on the road down there, but he's in the company van that has AWD.
Siping. A great thing. Getting it done today because I have the munnies for it.
I've never completely lost control of a car I was in. There was no helping it. What a bizarre and terrifying feeling. Not even enough time to go "holy shit!". Driving along, then SHOOP! Into the snow. What a surprise. So I sat for a minute and figured out what to do. Called the other guy, let him know that I was turning around and going back home. Fiddled around getting out of the snow and headed back. He was cool with it and said it was pretty crappy on the road down there, but he's in the company van that has AWD.
Siping. A great thing. Getting it done today because I have the munnies for it.
given an excuse to not go to Siskiyou... still deciding
we got like four inches of snow overnight, it looks like. I may call the guy who runs the other route down there and see if he can run mine. If we got that much, I'm not real interested in going over Mt Hebron in the Scootypuf. With regular tires. He knows driving in snow scares the everlovin crap out of me and taking the 97 in crappy weather is not real high on my list of ways to die.
Yeah. Finally gave a name to the camry. Scootypuf Jr. From Futurama. It totally fits.
Yeah. Finally gave a name to the camry. Scootypuf Jr. From Futurama. It totally fits.
12 26
We didn't do anything special for christmas. Just hung around the house and enjoyed a day off together. No stress, no frantic anything, no shopping, no cooking serious food. Just how i like it.
Wednesday another day in Siskiyou. Another white knuckle drive. Cheezus I hate driving in the winter here. It just gets worse in January, too.
If I smack the dashboard hard enough, push the slider button in a bit and move it back and forth, if the planets are aligned correctly and there are no solar storms, maybe I'll get heat in the car for a couple of minutes. For pete's fucking sake.
Wednesday another day in Siskiyou. Another white knuckle drive. Cheezus I hate driving in the winter here. It just gets worse in January, too.
If I smack the dashboard hard enough, push the slider button in a bit and move it back and forth, if the planets are aligned correctly and there are no solar storms, maybe I'll get heat in the car for a couple of minutes. For pete's fucking sake.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
more from the farang
here's my dad's take on Thailand. I may post excerpts from his emails in the future, just because they're interesting.
"Tremendous divide here between the educated and the uneducated. Oh, fair election, yes as far as the actual voting and counting were done but vote buying is still rampant in the north with the poor masses and the current Thaksin buddies are surely the most liberal about giving the baht for the votes. This all takes place well before the election so the international press doesn't care to report about it. If Samak becomes the new Prime Minister, there will be some interesting stories coming out of the woodwork with his contempt for almost anyone who disagrees with him. Thaksin was thrown out because he was so blatant in the corruption and self enrichment to himself, his family and buddies. Sold shares of his Telephone company to kids for 1 baht and they turned around in days and resold them for 50baht each. He sold his Telephone company to another company and pulled all kinds of strings to get excepted from Capitol Gains Tax on the sale. Wife purchased government owned land for a pittance in downtown Bangkok. Oh, he was well loved by those have not's in the hinterlands because of his government give aways of baht for all kinds of programs and purposes. He knew how to buy the votes and the educated just got tired of it. The educated are also guilty of keeping the uneducated masses down by not promoting education for them which would really solve some problems."
"Tremendous divide here between the educated and the uneducated. Oh, fair election, yes as far as the actual voting and counting were done but vote buying is still rampant in the north with the poor masses and the current Thaksin buddies are surely the most liberal about giving the baht for the votes. This all takes place well before the election so the international press doesn't care to report about it. If Samak becomes the new Prime Minister, there will be some interesting stories coming out of the woodwork with his contempt for almost anyone who disagrees with him. Thaksin was thrown out because he was so blatant in the corruption and self enrichment to himself, his family and buddies. Sold shares of his Telephone company to kids for 1 baht and they turned around in days and resold them for 50baht each. He sold his Telephone company to another company and pulled all kinds of strings to get excepted from Capitol Gains Tax on the sale. Wife purchased government owned land for a pittance in downtown Bangkok. Oh, he was well loved by those have not's in the hinterlands because of his government give aways of baht for all kinds of programs and purposes. He knew how to buy the votes and the educated just got tired of it. The educated are also guilty of keeping the uneducated masses down by not promoting education for them which would really solve some problems."
a farang's view
My dad sends me tidbits about Thailand. His last email detailed his thoughts on the election they just had over there. He's also sent me a Thai music file and a picture of the palace in.. i think it's Bangkok. Very cool. So foreign.
Well, maybe not entirely. My biodad's parents took in Cambodian refugees when I was little, and my grandfather had a business at one time where he was importing things from Siam (well, it was Siam at the time) and Cambodia. So I have something of a passing familiarity with the art, architecture and music. There was always something to learn at their house. Their house, in fact, is full of Asian antiques he picked up on his trips over there.
But anyway, dad's enjoying himself over there. Good for him.
Well, maybe not entirely. My biodad's parents took in Cambodian refugees when I was little, and my grandfather had a business at one time where he was importing things from Siam (well, it was Siam at the time) and Cambodia. So I have something of a passing familiarity with the art, architecture and music. There was always something to learn at their house. Their house, in fact, is full of Asian antiques he picked up on his trips over there.
But anyway, dad's enjoying himself over there. Good for him.
Monday, December 24, 2007
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