So I grabbed the new Thornley album "Come Again" on the weekend... and I'm not sorry to say I can't stop listening to it. It's really good. Ian Thornley is originally from the band "Big Wreck" which I also wholeheartedly dug, and was sad when they broke up. Sure you say it's been on the radio for quite a while (here in Canada anyways), but the songs just don't seem to get old, the melodies, chord structures, and contrast between sections of the album make me want to play it over and over.
I don't usually write reviews for albums because hey I just don't find ones worth shouting about, but this one deserves all the cudos and a couple of jugs of beer. The only downside I find with the album, is when it's playing in my car I tend to speed, and that gets me into trouble.
*update* Damn, you have to check out the song "Keep a Good Man Down", they have a media player on their website that lets you scroll through all the songs on the album.. and high quality playback too!
I almost fell off my comfy chair today reading this post from Accordion Guy, apparently someone redid "United States of Whatever" morphing it into "United States of NOOOOOOO" (ala SW Episode 3)
*cough* *sputter*
So the same folks that make the Smart Car here in North America have joined up with Apollo to make an Ammonia fuel cell car.
The most important thing, in my mind, about this movement is the ease of synthesizing and transporting ammonia. Hey, isn't there a lot of ammonia in urine? Does this mean we could have a car that runs off of the beer byproduct?
This thing has been floating around in my head for quite awhile, and it came to fruition last night around 2:30 am. Unfortunately I was nowhere near my computer or anything to write it down on. Hopefully it will make some sense and I won't ramble into nowhere-"preachy-Dave"-land.
It seems that everything we do is a big circle, life, death, babies, seniors; you're born from dust and your body turns into dust after death. Babies are born incapable of taking care of themselves, and many people last days are spent the exact same way.
The human race as a whole is a big circle too, a circle of life and death, mistakes and sometimes redemption. The German people, their country committed unthinkable attrocities in the last World War but gradually they seem to be learning from their mistakes, and acknowledging the murders of innocent Jews and attempted genocide.
Other countries seem to be taking a slide backwards, (link provided by Darren at Staticred) regressing into themselves, putting up the walls, and focusing on the enemy or the unknown enemy that could "strike at any moment". Fear is feeding intolerance which is feeding hatred and blurring peoples judgement, which in turn stains their humanity and their ability to mature. It's understandable that the wounds are still fresh, but imagine having memories of being bombed nightly for something like 57 days straight, no heat, no power, no gas to cook food with.
There are evils out there, there is no doubting that fact. There are people out there that at this moment want to kill you because of some reason or another, I'm most certain of that. I can bet there was murderous intent in the mind of somebody I accidentally cut-off driving home from work the other day, but I'm sure it faded and his logic/humanity took hold. Am I then going to create a killing device so potent that it could wipe out my city, just because that threat may be there? I hardly think so.
At some point are we going to mature as a race? Are we going to continue pointing fingers, puffing out our chests, yelling and screaming, and throwing dirt clumps at the neighbors dog because it's barking? Are we going to continue rehashing past grievances and pick away at issues while the future crashes down on us, and the greenhouse we live in shatters? Aren't there more important things than making your car shatter eardrums, breaking the speed limit, treating your kids like a nuisance, a fat ass and your 52" tv?
When I was a teenager I remember seeing the past and looking at the present, and considering whether we are a race or a messy destructive house guest. Truthfully, look at this place, look at that mess, are you gonna pick up after yourself some decade? And for God's sake take out the trash it's completely ruining the smell of my bucket of fried chicken.
Here's my take on intolerant religious fanatics (disregard the exclamations, they sort of take away from the humor)
Build your own Meat comic
Oh I forgot to mention I got to this great site ala Norbizness
X-man always amazes me, I know I've said this before but he does, he's about 30 months old now and his grasp of English is growing daily.
He was sitting at the kitchen table the other day and we had the following conversation:
*sound of airplane going by*
X: *ponders* What's that? Oh, airplane.
D: That's right, an airplane.
X: *pause* No, a rocket ship.
D: You think it's a rocket ship instead?
X: Yes
D: Where do you think it's going? To another planet?
X: Planet?
D: Right, like Mars or the Moon.
X: Rocket ship to the Moon!
D: *trying not to laugh* That's great! Would you like to go on a rocket ship to the moon some day?
X: (exuberantly) Yes!
D: I'm sure you will some day buddy.
Every once in awhile everyone needs a good kick in the teeth
That's the lesson learned at last night's Jazz jam at the Yardbird Suite, that and I am rusty, very rusty. I got up and played a couple of songs with some young guys and an older bass player, it was fun, but wow I used to fly over chord changes that I now stumble upon. A large portion of the problem lies with me not being relaxed, nerves taking over and brain getting in the way of playing. I'm sure it will be better next tuesday, as I'm gonna be a regular until the summer season is over. That's part of that previous post about mid-life crisis and the notice of non-compliance I gave myself a few days ago.
The oddest thing happened last night though, apparently without my knowledge I was a part of a convergence of have-beens (people that have been in the music seen here). Guys I went to school with 10 years ago and haven't seen since appeared out of nowhere, and locals that rarely come out slid out of the woodwork. It was overall a good time and fun experience.
A good friend was there that I haven't seen in 10 years. We went to St. FX together and drank together, plus he played in my recital. He has changed quite a bit for the better, it seems. He used to be dark, negative and jaded about so many things including music and the scene. Perhaps he has found an awakening while working on his Masters down in the US. It's good to see, I like to see people change for the better, and for the "happier".
*Oh, on the downside one of my new trees broke a branch in the wind this morning, so we have to prune it
It's interesting how when my parents show up things start happening. They have this unbelievable ability to get things done, and inspire you to get things done also. At 70ish my Dad is just starting to have just a little bit more energy than myself, a few years ago he had well over double the stamina and willpower.
Sat. he fixed my car, it needed new bearings and the brakes were sticking a bit too. Sun we tuned up the lawnmower, went shopping for trees for the front lawn, found a couple nice ones, a weeping birch, and an ornamental crabapple. Monday we talked my stepfather-in-law to take us back to Hole's Greenhouse to pick them up in his truck. We planted them in the cold rain, of course my Dad did most of the digging. We've been wanting trees for as long as we've been living in the house (about 9 years), in a few years they should shield our south facing windows from the summer sun.
Wow... this post just sort of fizzled, maybe I'll put something up later when I'm less friggin tired.
I've been thinking a lot about this for the past few months, what exactly is middle-aged? According to Dictionary.com middle-aged is roughly between 45 and 65 years old, so I apparently have about 9 years to go.
I would tend to disagree here, I think middle-aged is all in the mindset. It comes hand in hand with the midlife crisis and it's a time when you go "Holy f$@#in sh$@! What the hell have I done with my life?" I'm at that state now at 36 and I'm attempting to make some subtle and some less-subtle changes to improve myself; clean up my time and clean up my house (both physically and metaphysically (Yes Pam, I meant metaphysically)).
That doesn't mean I'll post less, it means I have better things to do than waste my time on the following:
The following things, even though I may hate them, they are important:
This post is a reminder to myself, and a Notice of Failure to Comply from my subconcious to my lazy ego. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me! *chuckle*
So the truth comes about regarding MP Gurmant Grewal and his allegations that the Liberal party tried bribing him to join them. These PC guys are looking more and more crooked, if the public decides to vote them in, in the painfully obvious upcoming election, they'd be simply replacing a people orientated governing party with skeletons in the closet, with a big business orientated governing party who has skeletons on the front lines of their cabinet, and socially stunted gunslingers as party leaders.
Turns out that:
The man who acted as a go-between for Conservative member of Parliament Gurmant Grewal and federal Liberals during recent talks about crossing the floor confirms a Liberal minister's claim that Grewal initiated the negotiations.
How oh how does this improve their public standing? Does the pc party think that the general public is so vehemently opposed to the Liberal party that we will blindly vote in an obviously corrupt an dysfunctional group of malcontents? Considering the average age of pc MPs, these guys are definitely showing their age and immaturity.
I cheered very loudly in my car when I heard that Belinda Stronach moved across the floor. Here's hoping that more of her former colleagues will gain some sense and do the same, or at least not vote with the thug majority. Here's hoping that logic prevails and opportunism fails in todays vote.
132 Mayors Embrace Kyoto Protocol. Stories such as these give me hope, and make me start to believe that not all legislators are short sighted and only looking out for the big guys in industry.
Go Mayors Go!
Your Deadly Sins |
| Sloth: 60% |
| Wrath: 60% |
| Lust: 40% |
| Gluttony: 20% |
| Greed: 20% |
| Envy: 0% |
| Pride: 0% |
| Chance You'll Go to Hell: 29% |
| You will die with your hand down your underwear, watching Star Trek. |
Took the car in yesterday morning to the GM Dealershipso they could check out the front end noises etc. Here's a summary of what's wrong:
Both front hub bearings are growling, and need replacing
Both front lower balljoints have lots of play and need replacing
Then of course, the obligatory wheel alignment
Total cost : $1500
Luckily my Dad, in all his great dadliness, can get the parts for less than 1/2 of what they quoted me, AND can replace them this weekend while he is in town! My really great new neighbour Rob is also letting us use his new garage on Saturday to perform the required mechanics. All is good or looks good so far, maybe my luck is turning around? Oh crap, I shouldn't have said that.
Why is it, everything bad that can happen will happen, and usually catch you when you least expect it and can do little to help? Just like a ringing phone when you're sitting on the crapper in the middle of your business: you're condemned to sit there listening to it ring, and forced listen to someone important leave a message saying they are doing something that needs your attention and since you didn't pick up the phone you just missed something super fantabulous. Ok, maybe this story isn't quite that extreme, but you get the idea.
This past weekend was supposed to be dedicated to 2 things: cleaning and cleaning. My parents are coming this weekend for a visit and our house is in it's usual unbelievable state of disarray. They will always say when they come that "we didn't come to see your house" etc. but you know it's irking them to no end that we live in squalor. Plus it irks me to no end that they get to see the mess, and effects the visit in my brain.
Anyways, so my cat Brutus had been sick all week, and as you may or may not have read, we had to have him put down on Friday. That basically ruined that night for doing anything constructive. We basically spent the night being extra nice to our other cat, and me comforting Amber, since he was primarily her cat. She is also sick with a cold/flu and infection, so it's not been a pleasant time for her all around. We sat and watched "Meet the Fockers", what a hilarious movie.
Saturday I went gung-ho cleaning, this that blam blam ... then we had to go pick some stuff up here and there and that blew the afternoon. I still got more stuff done but not much. Later that night our kitty Zeus was up and we were being nice to her ( I know, Zeus is a male name, it's a long story) and Xavier started sniffling. I'm like "oh no, maybe he's allergic to cats! Oh crap do I have to get rid of this one too?". Luckily it turned out to be just a cold.
Sunday I'm goin' gung ho again, cleanin this, picking up that, watched a bit of a kids cartoon with Xavier and Fzzt! the friggin TV went bonzo! So now everything is WAY too red, and even after adjusting it to hell it portrays grass in a delightful shade of purple. Whee... that's just what I need another expense after the vet bill for Brutus.
Oh, and did I mention the car sounds like shit? Yeah, I'm taking it in tomorrow to get them to look at the front end, it makes this nice CLUNK when you have the wheel turned and hit a dip. Life is wonderful.
My poor hog of a male cat is sick, for the last couple days he's been just laying around almost motionless. He won't eat, and he won't drink water, and it's all because a few days ago he gorged himself sick with cat food.
I apparently left the lid too loose on the rubbermaid container that holds their catfood and he figured even though it's the same food as in his dish, that somehow it tastes better. So now the bastard is gonna probably make me take him to the vet, who is gonna give me hassles about him not having his shots, or some other shit. I'll be all like "Hey mofo, he ain't got none of those other diseases do he? No sir, he just be plumb bunged up!" (ok, not exactly like that but, more you get the gist).
I'm afraid that if it turns into surgery and/or expensive treatments I'll be looking at a dead cat. I'm sorry I just can't justify spending a grand on a cat that I personally don't like that much. Call me hard hearted but I have other priorites like my kid and family to take care of, and extra income sucked away by a sick cat? I don't know, you guys will probably think I'm uncaring or hard-hearted but I have priorities.
*update* Looks like it's worse than I thought, he's neither peeing or pooping, some sort of blockage Feline lower urinary disease (crystals/stones). Also looks like it would cost us over $1000 to get him fixed up. It looks bad.
*update 2* Brutus was too sick, he couldn't last the day, and so we had to have him put down, we're sad to see him go, he was a good kitty and a good friend.
Once again, our esteemed "opposition" parties are champing at the bit to upset the Liberal control of the government and free us from the "corruption and moral ineptitude" or whatever the hell they call it.
What it boils down to is the leader of our opposition using the same grade 4 mentality that he used when he lost the last the previous election. After the election was over he threatened to quit the PC party and leave politics, well now that he sees an opening for him and his thugs to take down the Liberal government he can't wait for 8 days, he wants "Now mommy! Gimme it now! NOW!".
I'm sick of this crap and what is this with the PC party aligning itself with a Quebec Separatist party? Does this mean that they've made deals behind doors for special privileges if the PCs actually get into power? It's all unsettling. I mean look at these guys, would you trust them?
Today I'm reminded of the Rogers & Hart song, but for me it has nothing to do with lack of love, it has more to do with lack of drive. Spring always depresses me, I've never been an outdoors type, never been one who could barely wait to get out of the house and play in the yard etc. I partially blame the harsh results of the sun meeting my skin, the resulting red hell, better known as sunburn.
While others run and play I skulk in my house, or hide away into the shadows until the yellow death goes back below the horizon. On the odd day I decide to brave the burning rays I drench myself in protective salve, throw on the hat and attempt to act calm with my blue-white legs and arms blinding all who come near.
Spring is here, why doesn't the breeze delight me? Because I know that with that breeze comes a hint of dog shit, the crap that's in my backyard that I have to find time to clean up. Somewhere inbetween work, cooking supper, playing with the kid and sleeping, and hopefully during daylight hours.
Spring is here, why doesn't the night invite me? It does, it really does, but like hell I'm going to stay out all night at my age drinking and being crazy just to get up and go to work the next day, or face my 2 year old running around yelling "Daddy Daddy".
Really... they are... those big moving trucks you hired are somewhere on the Yellowhead and heading towards the wrong house.
Ok I'm being really obscure, but basically I haven't totally moved over to oorgo.mu.nu, and the reasoning is... I can't find Pixy Misa's email address to contact him. Of course, I have been doing my usual procrastination/half-assed attempts at finding it, so the process is going nowhere. I also haven't been able to test my export of Wordpress posts combined with archived MT posts, so that's also going nowhere.
I also requested to change my Truthlaidbear ecosystem account, to change the URL about 1 week ago, no such luck so far. I have no idea how some of these huge blogs move from their blogspot.com over to mu.nu, the amount of work involved must be huge.
Oh, and I have to ask Dan to throw up a page to forward people here, and let them know the new URL. Here now he's doing fine and his server is probably going to be up for a long time.... oh well.
Ok, I'm stopping the whine-fest now.
In my daily readings I read that Russia is marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and that in 6 years 27 million civilians and soldiers of the former Soviet Union died. I took a second take on that "27 million", unfathomable, especially since the current estimate of the population of Canada is 32,190,455.
A death toll of that magnitude would leave 5 million people scattered across our land, less than 1 out of 5 people surviving. At the time of the war, that was 2.7 times the population of Canada. I wish my knowledge of history was better, but I don't think 100% of those deaths were caused by outside forces, but also by the soviet leaders, and political cleansing (correct me please if I'm wrong).
A quote from the article and Russian President Putin, which are my sentiments exactly:
"May 9 is "a sacred day" in Russia, serving as a reminder of "what monstrous consequences violence and moral intolerance, genocide and persecution of others could lead to."
If only the rest of the world would listen, think and learn from the past. Racial, religious, moral, or political intolerance when taken to heart and pushed to extremes can snowball into horror and death. We're all people, all of us, and we are all entitled to our freedom; that doesn't mean your freedom is the same as mine, or your peace is the same as mine. You can't dictate my lifestyle, just as you can't dictate how I think or feel, I can't condemn you for your fear but I can try to help you understand that it's not needed.
There was a boy who knew little,
dropped into the world, bright, absorbing and imitating,
excited about everything, friendly and trusting.
Slightly different than others
in look and action. Glaringly red hair,
a beacon for taunting and bored simpletons.
Uncomfortable teen years,
never rejected, nor totally accepted. Outsider
wanting to belong, but not in keen circles.
Underachiever, bad attitude,
coasting, unstimulated, non-important things more important. Music
is all there is, but the will is not there to step forward.
College realizations,
abilites and mistakes, urgency for some purpose. Frantic
to stop the downward spiral that has become his life.
University smackdown,
group learning, group drinking, pushed to purpose and excel. Acknowledgement
achievement and excitement about the future.
Dropped back into western Canada,
excitement soon quenched again by reality. Bills
soon pile up, debt owing, entrenched into tech support.
Years pass, baby born,
priorities change and coasting resumes. Parental
now, responsibilities, goals set aside, the child takes times, gives back love.
(here he doesn't really post anything for a week, then comes up with poetry... sheesh)
Ok, we all knew I was aligned with the dark side... this just confirms it.
Ok, not really, in fact all the Conservatives are standing around patting themselves on the backs, chanting something like "Go PC Go!" or "Die Libs Die!". They've put on their warpaint and claimed that "We cannot support a government that is mired in these kind of corruption scandals." Apparently these nincompoops have forgotten the Mulroney years.
In FACT, the current Liberal minority government has been patching old wounds and fixing social programs, environmental stuff, and road systems, unlike the PC party whose main goal is and always has been focused on reaming the little guy while padding the corporate pockets.
In my opinion, if they cast a non-confidence vote, and the bullies of the PC party force us into another election it will backfire on them. Canadians DON'T want an election, they don't want to go to the polls, and they also don't want to see millions of their money spent on ad campaigns, slogans, ballots etc. aimed at coercing them to vote for a bunch of parties they don't even respect.
Call me a socialist, but Jack Layton of the NDP party is the only one in the whole house that's coming out smelling less of manure, and more of roses.
If anything, I can bet that the Libs will come back with a majority government, effectively trouncing the PC party. That's my prediction. Screw you Stephen Harper and your party of opportunistic bullies.
So the inevitable has finally come: this years favorite time of year for me has been cancelled. This years Edmonton Jazz City has been cancelled because of debt and crappy management.
It is not surprising, not even a little, not with the acts and the turnout for the past few years. When you spend a chunk of cash on an unknown act (locally unknown), bringing them from Norway or Sweden, or somewhere remote, and then 20 people come to see them, what happens? You obtain debt. They had apparently accumulated $200,000 over the past 5 years.
Last year our band played a night or two somewhere in town for Jazz City and it was pretty packed, and a lot of fun. We had to wait for 2 months to get paid, and then our bandleader threatened to talk to the local tv station, and suddenly we got paid.
The good thing about it, is the local Jazz society has stepped up to the plate, along with 4 downtown restaurants to hold a much less official and (from what it sounds like) much more relaxed festival. I am going to see if I can weasel my way into a couple gigs or such, tomorrow night is Jam night at the Jazz society's club and I'm going to show up with my horn.
Damn... I've been drawing a blank lately, nothing specific to write about, no questions, problems, solutions to life, the universe and everything (btw, I went to see that movie on Friday and it's great).
SO right now I'm courtesy blogging, just out of courtesy for the few readers I get daily... There's a post! but it's not exciting in the least.
I've been waffling between the two blogs here and the old one here. I fixed up some semblance of a template in the new one, and there is... surprise surprise.... a courtesy post in the old one too!
