Tomorrow afternoon, Amber and I are off to North Carolina, home of the Tar Heels and the birthplace of flight! I need to compile and burn a CD dedicated to the State with such songs as "Carolina in my Mind" by James Taylor, "Heads Carolina, Tails California" by Martina McBride, and "Gone to Carolina" by Shooter Jennings. I love how going on trips always give me an excuse to make mixes. Not that I need excuses, I make most of them for no reason at all. But still. I got the North Carolina mix all set on the iPod as well.
I think this is the first trip Amber and I have taken by ourselves since our honeymoon so it's been a long time coming. We'll have our fill of seafood, explore the Cape Fear area, check out the beaches, see some historical landmarks, drink moonshine (most likely not) and eat ice cream (most likely). I think we'll check out the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, it's a 250 room mansion built in the late 1800's. One of Amber's friends used to work there so she can give us a tour. I feel kinda bad that we'll be gone this week because Buck, Ed and their respective wives are moving into their new houses and we'd like to help. But what can you do.
We saw "Tropic Thunder" over the weekend and it is ridiculous. And by ridiculous I mean slapstick, offensive, violent, F-bomb dropping humor. But it has an all-star cast with some amazing performances. Like Robert Downey Junior playing a dead-on black guy. And Tom Cruise playing a not-so-nice agent. We haven't been to a movie in a while so it was nice to go to one.
I'll see you all in September!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Caffeine: The World's Crutch
I got to thinking while I was driving around to a few subs this morning. I stopped at Starbucks (yes I know, corporate machine, evil empire, blah, blah, blah) and got myself a cup of joe and began to ponder what would happen if there was a world ban on caffeine that would made it's use illegal. Surely the world economy would melt down. Think about it; it would cause Starbucks and any other coffee franchise to go under and would make the stock market crash. Productivity would cease to a halt all over the globe. No tea, caffeinated soda, coffee, not even decaf...not to mention chocolate could be used. So many people would go through withdrawal and have terrible headaches, the hospitals would be flooded. The Latin America, African and South American and other small tropical countries that produce coffee beans would cease to halt. China's tea production would slow dramatically. Forget about the world being dependant on oil, it's coffee that's really running the show! Of course, there would never be a shortage of coffee since it's a plant that you can grow, but what about all the environmental changes going on, surely it will end up affecting coffee production sooner or later! Forget about your sci-fi novel, Buck, you need to write a book about this!
Anyway, our lawn is screwed. This lack of rain and the merciless sun over the past few weeks has turned our lawn to a nice golden yellow. Our neighbors water their grass so it is nice and green; I say it's fine because it is Packer season and green and gold go well together. But now that fall's coming it will get greener again.
Last night Amber and I were spraying hornets coming out from under our siding with this sweet hornet killer that literally kills them on contact. I shoot at them flying through the air and they drop out of the sky like nobody's business. I saw that we had two nests on the very top corners of our roof so I got out the old hose, put it on "super jet" setting and let loose. I whacked the first nest and like 40 hornets came flying out, I got scared thinking they were going to attack me but luckily since I was the guy with the hose they avoid the water. I couldn't quite knock the nest down so I think I'll wait until the winter to do that and then slip and fall to my death.
I've been reading a lot of books lately, too many at one time. I need to read for my sci-fi book club, the text book for my PE class, The Screwtape Letters, not to mention the Bible and now our new book for book group starting in Sept. I should get some books on CD and listen to them in my car. Make the most out of my time. How did I become such a big reader? I have no idea.
I got totally rocked by an electric fence this weekend when I was visiting my cousin and aunt and uncle that live on a farm. I was talking to Amber on the phone and went to go pet the goats and leaned over the fence and felt my heart stop. It was like 10,000 volts jolting my body. It didn't really hurt, but just really shocked and surprised me. I felt a heaviness in my chest after that. Whew, that woke me up!
I just finished cleaning the Wurlitzer and began putting it back together last night. The keys don't stick at all anymore and the sound is so warm and incredible I literally melt when I play it. Tonight I hope to put the legs on and clean the outside. I still need a sustain pedal for it and then it will be complete!
My cousin gave me his 120GB external hard drive filled to the brim with mp3s to borrow. I'm totally gonna copy a bunch over and fill up my iTunes with some great stuff. Anything you can imagine is on it! I will have a field day with this.
Amber and I are heading out to North Carolina next Tuesday for our 3rd Anniversary trip. I can't believe it's already three years! We have this sweet hotel room in Wilmington and the room is actually two stories with a spiral staircase and the upper level is all windows and overlooks the city! Awesome! We'll also be visiting family in Charlotte and friends in Asheville. Should be a great time. I gotta make some NC Mixes this weekend. I really want to try some sweet tea and see what the big fuss is.
Anyway, our lawn is screwed. This lack of rain and the merciless sun over the past few weeks has turned our lawn to a nice golden yellow. Our neighbors water their grass so it is nice and green; I say it's fine because it is Packer season and green and gold go well together. But now that fall's coming it will get greener again.
Last night Amber and I were spraying hornets coming out from under our siding with this sweet hornet killer that literally kills them on contact. I shoot at them flying through the air and they drop out of the sky like nobody's business. I saw that we had two nests on the very top corners of our roof so I got out the old hose, put it on "super jet" setting and let loose. I whacked the first nest and like 40 hornets came flying out, I got scared thinking they were going to attack me but luckily since I was the guy with the hose they avoid the water. I couldn't quite knock the nest down so I think I'll wait until the winter to do that and then slip and fall to my death.
I've been reading a lot of books lately, too many at one time. I need to read for my sci-fi book club, the text book for my PE class, The Screwtape Letters, not to mention the Bible and now our new book for book group starting in Sept. I should get some books on CD and listen to them in my car. Make the most out of my time. How did I become such a big reader? I have no idea.
I got totally rocked by an electric fence this weekend when I was visiting my cousin and aunt and uncle that live on a farm. I was talking to Amber on the phone and went to go pet the goats and leaned over the fence and felt my heart stop. It was like 10,000 volts jolting my body. It didn't really hurt, but just really shocked and surprised me. I felt a heaviness in my chest after that. Whew, that woke me up!
I just finished cleaning the Wurlitzer and began putting it back together last night. The keys don't stick at all anymore and the sound is so warm and incredible I literally melt when I play it. Tonight I hope to put the legs on and clean the outside. I still need a sustain pedal for it and then it will be complete!
My cousin gave me his 120GB external hard drive filled to the brim with mp3s to borrow. I'm totally gonna copy a bunch over and fill up my iTunes with some great stuff. Anything you can imagine is on it! I will have a field day with this.
Amber and I are heading out to North Carolina next Tuesday for our 3rd Anniversary trip. I can't believe it's already three years! We have this sweet hotel room in Wilmington and the room is actually two stories with a spiral staircase and the upper level is all windows and overlooks the city! Awesome! We'll also be visiting family in Charlotte and friends in Asheville. Should be a great time. I gotta make some NC Mixes this weekend. I really want to try some sweet tea and see what the big fuss is.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I'm Sorry...
...but "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips is amazing.
Amber and I were eating dinner at a restaurant in Stoughton on Sunday night and I heard this song coming from the bar area. And I thought to myself "This song is so sweet I must mention it in my blog" It's pure, power-pop, middle-of-the-road ballad bliss. Produced by Glen Ballard who engineered hits by artists from Dave Matthews Band to Madonna to Alanis Morrissette. The awesome drum fill in the end makes it for me. No matter how terrible a song is, if it has a sweet drum breakdown in the middle it gets 5 stars in my book.
Let's see, what else is new...
I've been biking a lot more recently and am starting to like it quite a bit. I'll be going tonight after work with a few friends. I enjoy how far you can travel on fairly little effort or you can really pound it and get an amazing workout. I'm not a fan of putting on all the gear, maintaining the bike and avoiding traffic but it's a nice change from high-impact running.
I'm operating on little sleep this week so far. On Tues. morning I got up at 4am to help make and serve breakfast at a homeless shelter by the capital and I didn't get to bed until 12:30 because I had my PE exam refresher course in Milwaukee from 7:30-9:30, then I drove back, then when I came home I put the bike on my car and Amber was still awake watching the Olympics so I started watching it and ate some dinner. Today I got up early to meet a friend for coffee and I may swing on down to the terrace later tonight after the bike ride to catch Shaft perform at open mic night while Amber is watching a movie with some friends. I think on Thursday I have nothing going on so I hope to relax for a night!
Man, I really like the temperatures around the area lately. Feels like early fall. I know it's way too soon for that but I'm not a huge fan of the crazy heat so I say bring it on! I'm definitely not ready for another winter like last year. Actually the best part about winter is not having to mow the lawn!
I'll be heading up to Hawkins, WI to visit my cousin this weekend who I haven't seen in about a year. I'm really looking forward to it. They live on this farm and have a few cows and they have a potato gun which we shoot at the silo. It's sounds redneck, but it's sooo much fun! And we can play paintball in the field behind their house. Killer.
The Longshots season is complete! We had our last game last Thursday and we lost fairly big I think. Our season record was 3-7 but a big improvement over last year. Dobbins played with us and had a few great hits and was clutch in shallow left field. Speaking of sports, how about them Brewers? Sabathia and Sheets are next in the order and sure to stomp San Diego this week. September is almost here and I'm starting to get pretty excited about their wildcard prospects and even winning the division! Man, I love baseball! I even convinced Amber to buy a Brewers shirt which would have been unheard of about 3 years ago. She claims she doesn't like sports but I think she's wearing down. She's a crazy Olympic watcher and can even handle a little baseball now and then.
Went to the Capital Brewery Biergarten last Friday with our Book Group and Old Man Dobbins and it was a blast. Do not ever go to see the band called "Swing Crew"! They are terrible and cheesy but drunk people love them I found out. They are a very gimmicky, untalented band. Afterwards we went to Hubbard's for cheesecake and coffee.
The Wurlitzer is fairing well. I took it apart on Sunday and vacuumed out all the junk, cleaned the keys and now I have to reassemble it tomorrow. Hopefully there aren't a pile of screws leftover when I'm done!
"Rock on London. Rock on Chicago. Goodnight."
Amber and I were eating dinner at a restaurant in Stoughton on Sunday night and I heard this song coming from the bar area. And I thought to myself "This song is so sweet I must mention it in my blog" It's pure, power-pop, middle-of-the-road ballad bliss. Produced by Glen Ballard who engineered hits by artists from Dave Matthews Band to Madonna to Alanis Morrissette. The awesome drum fill in the end makes it for me. No matter how terrible a song is, if it has a sweet drum breakdown in the middle it gets 5 stars in my book.
Let's see, what else is new...
I've been biking a lot more recently and am starting to like it quite a bit. I'll be going tonight after work with a few friends. I enjoy how far you can travel on fairly little effort or you can really pound it and get an amazing workout. I'm not a fan of putting on all the gear, maintaining the bike and avoiding traffic but it's a nice change from high-impact running.
I'm operating on little sleep this week so far. On Tues. morning I got up at 4am to help make and serve breakfast at a homeless shelter by the capital and I didn't get to bed until 12:30 because I had my PE exam refresher course in Milwaukee from 7:30-9:30, then I drove back, then when I came home I put the bike on my car and Amber was still awake watching the Olympics so I started watching it and ate some dinner. Today I got up early to meet a friend for coffee and I may swing on down to the terrace later tonight after the bike ride to catch Shaft perform at open mic night while Amber is watching a movie with some friends. I think on Thursday I have nothing going on so I hope to relax for a night!
Man, I really like the temperatures around the area lately. Feels like early fall. I know it's way too soon for that but I'm not a huge fan of the crazy heat so I say bring it on! I'm definitely not ready for another winter like last year. Actually the best part about winter is not having to mow the lawn!
I'll be heading up to Hawkins, WI to visit my cousin this weekend who I haven't seen in about a year. I'm really looking forward to it. They live on this farm and have a few cows and they have a potato gun which we shoot at the silo. It's sounds redneck, but it's sooo much fun! And we can play paintball in the field behind their house. Killer.
The Longshots season is complete! We had our last game last Thursday and we lost fairly big I think. Our season record was 3-7 but a big improvement over last year. Dobbins played with us and had a few great hits and was clutch in shallow left field. Speaking of sports, how about them Brewers? Sabathia and Sheets are next in the order and sure to stomp San Diego this week. September is almost here and I'm starting to get pretty excited about their wildcard prospects and even winning the division! Man, I love baseball! I even convinced Amber to buy a Brewers shirt which would have been unheard of about 3 years ago. She claims she doesn't like sports but I think she's wearing down. She's a crazy Olympic watcher and can even handle a little baseball now and then.
Went to the Capital Brewery Biergarten last Friday with our Book Group and Old Man Dobbins and it was a blast. Do not ever go to see the band called "Swing Crew"! They are terrible and cheesy but drunk people love them I found out. They are a very gimmicky, untalented band. Afterwards we went to Hubbard's for cheesecake and coffee.
The Wurlitzer is fairing well. I took it apart on Sunday and vacuumed out all the junk, cleaned the keys and now I have to reassemble it tomorrow. Hopefully there aren't a pile of screws leftover when I'm done!
"Rock on London. Rock on Chicago. Goodnight."
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Bidding on a keyboard on E-Bay was a bad choice.
So, on Wednesday I was looking on eBay for good deals on some vintage keyboards. I saw a Roland Juno-106, a classic FM analog synthesizer from the mid-eighties that was very popular with musicians back then, artists such as Peter Gabriel, INXS, Kate Bush and is still used by modern bands today such as the Kaiser Chiefs, Moby, Franz Ferdinand and Sigur Ros. It was a used keyboard at a fair price, I definitely don't need it but I kinda wanted it so I went against my better instincts and put a bid that I was certain wouldn't be the winning bid just to see what happened. I got a message saying that I am currently the high bidder and the auction ends in 7 hours. I didn't want this to happen! There were 5 bids on it and I was certain someone was going to out-bid me in the last minute. I was hoping for it.
I was outbidded at the last minute. Luckily. So this post is anti-climactic, I know. Still, I am an idiot. I got a good scare.
Oh Zeke.
I was outbidded at the last minute. Luckily. So this post is anti-climactic, I know. Still, I am an idiot. I got a good scare.
Oh Zeke.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Wurlitzer 200A
So, last night I broke out my dilapidated, worn out, legless Wurlitzer 200A that's sitting in the closet in the music room. It's rusted, full of cobwebs and dirty. I found it about 4 years ago when I was at my cousin's farm. It was sitting on the floor of the barn covered with pieces of broken wood. No way to treat a valuable musical instrument! I couldn't believe my eyes when I found it, it's such a classic keyboard and one of the very first electric pianos.
I remember when I first got it, I tried to play it and a bunch of keys didn't work. But when I tried it yesterday, everything amazingly worked and it sounds incredible! This morning I stopped up at the hardware store to get some compressed air and electronics cleaner so I can get this thing looking snazzy. I still need to by a sustain pedal for it; looking online they were like $250...but after further investigating I found one for $46, still expensive but necessary. I also need to get the rust off the legs and buy new screws.
Check out some of the songs that feature this instrument:
Alan Parsons Project - "Eye In The Sky"
Beck - "Where It's At"
The Black Crowes - "Remedy"
Boston - "My Destination"
Chicago - "Feelin' Stronger Every Day"
Daft Punk - "Digital Love"
David Gray/Lost Songs/Wurlitzer
Gov't Mule - "Soulshine"
Joni Mitchell - "Woodstock"
Little Feat - "Long Distance Love", "Got No Shadow", "Romance Dance"
Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
Muse - "Feeling Good"
Neil Young - "The Old Laughing Lady", "See The Sky About To Rain"
Panic at the Disco - "Mad As Rabbits"
Pink Floyd - "Breathe","Money", "Time"
Quarterflash - "Harden My Heart"
Queen - "You're My Best Friend"
Ray Charles - "What'd I Say"
Sheryl Crow - "The Book", "All I Wanna Do"
Rick Springfield - "Souls"
Steely Dan - "Godwhacker", "Do It Again," "Jack Of Speed", "Two Against Nature", "Your Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago"
Sun Ra (1956 first Wurlitzer record including) - "India", "Dreams Come True"
Supertramp - "The Logical Song", "Dreamer", "Goodbye Stranger", "Lady" and countless other songs.
Three Dog Night - "Mama Told Me Not To Come"; "Joy to the World"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Breakdown", "You Don't Know How It Feels"
Tori Amos - "Tombigbee", "Pancake", "Strange Little Girl"
Usher - "Thats What Its Made For"
Van Halen - "And the Cradle Will Rock"
Thank you Wikipedia! I'm sure you'll see some CRV on that list eventually.
So, yeah, it's a great sound and I'm excited to start playing it more. I also bought Camann's desk yesterday so now I have a good workspace up in the music room. Rock on!
I remember when I first got it, I tried to play it and a bunch of keys didn't work. But when I tried it yesterday, everything amazingly worked and it sounds incredible! This morning I stopped up at the hardware store to get some compressed air and electronics cleaner so I can get this thing looking snazzy. I still need to by a sustain pedal for it; looking online they were like $250...but after further investigating I found one for $46, still expensive but necessary. I also need to get the rust off the legs and buy new screws.
Check out some of the songs that feature this instrument:
Alan Parsons Project - "Eye In The Sky"
Beck - "Where It's At"
The Black Crowes - "Remedy"
Boston - "My Destination"
Chicago - "Feelin' Stronger Every Day"
Daft Punk - "Digital Love"
David Gray/Lost Songs/Wurlitzer
Gov't Mule - "Soulshine"
Joni Mitchell - "Woodstock"
Little Feat - "Long Distance Love", "Got No Shadow", "Romance Dance"
Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
Muse - "Feeling Good"
Neil Young - "The Old Laughing Lady", "See The Sky About To Rain"
Panic at the Disco - "Mad As Rabbits"
Pink Floyd - "Breathe","Money", "Time"
Quarterflash - "Harden My Heart"
Queen - "You're My Best Friend"
Ray Charles - "What'd I Say"
Sheryl Crow - "The Book", "All I Wanna Do"
Rick Springfield - "Souls"
Steely Dan - "Godwhacker", "Do It Again," "Jack Of Speed", "Two Against Nature", "Your Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago"
Sun Ra (1956 first Wurlitzer record including) - "India", "Dreams Come True"
Supertramp - "The Logical Song", "Dreamer", "Goodbye Stranger", "Lady" and countless other songs.
Three Dog Night - "Mama Told Me Not To Come"; "Joy to the World"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Breakdown", "You Don't Know How It Feels"
Tori Amos - "Tombigbee", "Pancake", "Strange Little Girl"
Usher - "Thats What Its Made For"
Van Halen - "And the Cradle Will Rock"
Thank you Wikipedia! I'm sure you'll see some CRV on that list eventually.
So, yeah, it's a great sound and I'm excited to start playing it more. I also bought Camann's desk yesterday so now I have a good workspace up in the music room. Rock on!
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