Can you find Shawn and I on the banner for the Prairie du Chien Half Marathon website?? Click on the picture to expand.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
HOPE
What a great today, huh? A new president, the beginning of a new Era. With all the troubles our country is having, we still see such a strong sense of hope. This is what makes America great. Makes me want to write a song called "Inauguration Day".
And what better way to celebrate a new era than with a new beer? I bought a new beer kit yesterday called "Terrace Pilsner". Should be tasty. I'll keep you all posted on the progress with pictures and whatnot. I am opening the request line for new beer names. And,no, "Prophetic Pilsner" will not work. I've been doing some research on Pilsners. Apparently, they originated in the Czech town of Pilsen. And, technically, only beers from that city are called Pilsners, although that name is loosely used now. I bought a bottle filler and an autosiphon to make the bottle filling process much cleaner; for Amber's sake :-)
I have a nasty cold. It started on Saturday evening after I got home from skiing at Cascade Mountain with Tucker. I was completely delirious on Sunday evening and most of Monday. I was laughing for no apparent reason. Out of control. I have a bit of a stuffy nose today otherwise I feel pretty good.
I'm heading to Fond du Lac this Thursday/Friday for a conference with 4 other co-workers. Not quite Pacific Northwest, but what can you do. My boss made it clear that we can't drink and drive with the company vehicle. I'll keep that in mind. Apparently, last year, people got a bit out of hand. The boss said I have to try to keep people in check. I'm sure they'll listen to the lowest man on the totem pole.
Here's to the next 4 years!
And what better way to celebrate a new era than with a new beer? I bought a new beer kit yesterday called "Terrace Pilsner". Should be tasty. I'll keep you all posted on the progress with pictures and whatnot. I am opening the request line for new beer names. And,no, "Prophetic Pilsner" will not work. I've been doing some research on Pilsners. Apparently, they originated in the Czech town of Pilsen. And, technically, only beers from that city are called Pilsners, although that name is loosely used now. I bought a bottle filler and an autosiphon to make the bottle filling process much cleaner; for Amber's sake :-)
I have a nasty cold. It started on Saturday evening after I got home from skiing at Cascade Mountain with Tucker. I was completely delirious on Sunday evening and most of Monday. I was laughing for no apparent reason. Out of control. I have a bit of a stuffy nose today otherwise I feel pretty good.
I'm heading to Fond du Lac this Thursday/Friday for a conference with 4 other co-workers. Not quite Pacific Northwest, but what can you do. My boss made it clear that we can't drink and drive with the company vehicle. I'll keep that in mind. Apparently, last year, people got a bit out of hand. The boss said I have to try to keep people in check. I'm sure they'll listen to the lowest man on the totem pole.
Here's to the next 4 years!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Deep Friday
It's been a good week. I feel like a lot has been happening and things have been coming at me from all angles but I've been able to handle things alright.
Went to the Wisconsin Basketball game last night with Andy "Old Man" Dobbins. If you saw it, you'll know how heartbreaking it was. Wisconsin was up by 12 at the half, then Minnesota went on a tear in the second half and just started to crush. In the last few seconds of the game, MN was down by 3 and they hit a 3-pointer with seconds to go and put it into overtime. Then it was all over after that. They pressed us hard and we could barely put the ball into play, they were on us like flies on rice (is that the right saying??). We lost by 4, but it was a really fun and intense game to watch. It was my first Big 10 vs. Big 10 basketball game since college. Cool!
After the game, we went over to the Vintage, which is one of my favorite bars, and we met Andy "No Fear" Camann for a drink or two. We got on this great discussion about music and the future of it. I posed the question: "Will there ever be a band as big as The Beatles again in the history of modern music?" We tried to figure out what it was about the Beatles that made them so popular. It was decided that their good looks, new ground-breaking musical style, the fact that they wrote all their own songs and all these combined was something the world has never seen. Every band since then has been, more or less, "more of the same" I think the only way that a band could ever be as big as the Beatles is if there are new instruments and a new style of music that would be invented. But still, with the way music is distributed now days, I doubt it would have the "Explosion Effect" the Beatles had. So, to answer that question: "No."
Another topic that I brought up was if music will eventually become a dying art form. I say this because if we look back over the centuries we see the rise and fall of various art forms. Back in the Renaissance period, paintings were all the rage. We had Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, etc. They were crazy popular. Today, yes there is still art, but it does not generate nearly as much excitement it did back then. Name one artist in the past 10 years that has rivaled the classic artists. How about theater in England in Shakespearean times? People were going nuts for that stuff! Today, not so much. Or how about ballet or opera? All of these arts have seen their peak and are on the decline; so I have to assume that modern music will also follow this pattern. We have seen the peak of modern music with the Beatles. We can already see this trend today with slowing album sales and radio stations closing their doors. In 100 years, music will be what classic art is today. People will be listening to the old stuff, and not much attention will be given to the new stuff. Ready!...discuss.
A few weeks ago, Blackhawk started doing their new sermon series on prayer. This is excellent as this is an area which I need much work on. The most recent sermon was on praying big prayers. Most time, when people pray, including myself, we tend to pray the small prayers like: Lord, I pray for safe travel. Lord, I pray that work goes well tomorrow. Lord, thank you for this food. Lord, I pray that I can quickly recall the knowledge to perform well on this test. Etc. And these are all fine a good prayers! Nothing is wrong with these and we should be praying for any and all things. But God is so much bigger and more powerful than we can imagine. If we look at some of the prayers in the bible, those are come BIG prayers. Elijah prayed for rain, and it rained, he prayed for no rain and it stopped. People prayed to bring a loved one back to life, and it happened. If Elijah’s prayers had the power to change meteorological realities, religious structures, and the economics of a whole society, can we do that? I think today's Christian does not utilize or comprehend the true power of prayer and what effect it can have on people and history...if done for the right reasons.
Pastor had a great example where he said something like "A big prayer for someone might be like 'I pray that I win the lottery', well, if you think about it, that's not quite big enough. All you're asking God to do is put 5 balls in a certain order so you win." That's nothing for God. Plus, you're probably not praying that kind of prayer for the right reason. We all say the nice sounding prayers, but we gotta start to pray what is truly on our hearts and minds. A big prayer might be to ask God to turn a friend or family, who's heart(s) is so hardened that you never would think in a million years they would become a Christ follower, to come to know the Lord.
And I think through recent prayer I've realized how selfish I truly am. Like last week, for example, when Amber's Grandma died. The first thing I thought of was not her and her family, I was thinking how this will affect my week, all the driving I'm going to be doing, and, oh my gosh, will I miss the basketball game on Thursday? All my thoughts went towards me. Obviously, a major character flaw. And other things like getting what I want, when I want. I've realized I'm pretty impatient when things don't go my way and how greedy I can be when I have the money to get whatever I want.
On a completely unrelated note, with all this talk of music and songwriting that I've been engaged in lately, I think one of the big fears I have about getting the ability to properly record my music is that I will have such incredible high expectations of myself and will let myself down if I can't deliver. The longer I wait, the longer I can put off dealing with that. Man, I just need to get over myself.
One of the great lyrical tid-bits that I found lately is from a song by matt pond pa called "New Hampshire" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znhicjyJXW8 it's the bridge and it's pure gold. Maybe it's not really the lyrics, but his delivery. It sounds like he (or the song's character) really misses his home and family. You can feel the ache.
"I’m going home back to New Hampshire
I’m so determined, I'm so determined
to lay in lakes and see my sisters
I will hit my brother
and hold my mother"
Went to the Wisconsin Basketball game last night with Andy "Old Man" Dobbins. If you saw it, you'll know how heartbreaking it was. Wisconsin was up by 12 at the half, then Minnesota went on a tear in the second half and just started to crush. In the last few seconds of the game, MN was down by 3 and they hit a 3-pointer with seconds to go and put it into overtime. Then it was all over after that. They pressed us hard and we could barely put the ball into play, they were on us like flies on rice (is that the right saying??). We lost by 4, but it was a really fun and intense game to watch. It was my first Big 10 vs. Big 10 basketball game since college. Cool!
After the game, we went over to the Vintage, which is one of my favorite bars, and we met Andy "No Fear" Camann for a drink or two. We got on this great discussion about music and the future of it. I posed the question: "Will there ever be a band as big as The Beatles again in the history of modern music?" We tried to figure out what it was about the Beatles that made them so popular. It was decided that their good looks, new ground-breaking musical style, the fact that they wrote all their own songs and all these combined was something the world has never seen. Every band since then has been, more or less, "more of the same" I think the only way that a band could ever be as big as the Beatles is if there are new instruments and a new style of music that would be invented. But still, with the way music is distributed now days, I doubt it would have the "Explosion Effect" the Beatles had. So, to answer that question: "No."
Another topic that I brought up was if music will eventually become a dying art form. I say this because if we look back over the centuries we see the rise and fall of various art forms. Back in the Renaissance period, paintings were all the rage. We had Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Picasso, etc. They were crazy popular. Today, yes there is still art, but it does not generate nearly as much excitement it did back then. Name one artist in the past 10 years that has rivaled the classic artists. How about theater in England in Shakespearean times? People were going nuts for that stuff! Today, not so much. Or how about ballet or opera? All of these arts have seen their peak and are on the decline; so I have to assume that modern music will also follow this pattern. We have seen the peak of modern music with the Beatles. We can already see this trend today with slowing album sales and radio stations closing their doors. In 100 years, music will be what classic art is today. People will be listening to the old stuff, and not much attention will be given to the new stuff. Ready!...discuss.
A few weeks ago, Blackhawk started doing their new sermon series on prayer. This is excellent as this is an area which I need much work on. The most recent sermon was on praying big prayers. Most time, when people pray, including myself, we tend to pray the small prayers like: Lord, I pray for safe travel. Lord, I pray that work goes well tomorrow. Lord, thank you for this food. Lord, I pray that I can quickly recall the knowledge to perform well on this test. Etc. And these are all fine a good prayers! Nothing is wrong with these and we should be praying for any and all things. But God is so much bigger and more powerful than we can imagine. If we look at some of the prayers in the bible, those are come BIG prayers. Elijah prayed for rain, and it rained, he prayed for no rain and it stopped. People prayed to bring a loved one back to life, and it happened. If Elijah’s prayers had the power to change meteorological realities, religious structures, and the economics of a whole society, can we do that? I think today's Christian does not utilize or comprehend the true power of prayer and what effect it can have on people and history...if done for the right reasons.
Pastor had a great example where he said something like "A big prayer for someone might be like 'I pray that I win the lottery', well, if you think about it, that's not quite big enough. All you're asking God to do is put 5 balls in a certain order so you win." That's nothing for God. Plus, you're probably not praying that kind of prayer for the right reason. We all say the nice sounding prayers, but we gotta start to pray what is truly on our hearts and minds. A big prayer might be to ask God to turn a friend or family, who's heart(s) is so hardened that you never would think in a million years they would become a Christ follower, to come to know the Lord.
And I think through recent prayer I've realized how selfish I truly am. Like last week, for example, when Amber's Grandma died. The first thing I thought of was not her and her family, I was thinking how this will affect my week, all the driving I'm going to be doing, and, oh my gosh, will I miss the basketball game on Thursday? All my thoughts went towards me. Obviously, a major character flaw. And other things like getting what I want, when I want. I've realized I'm pretty impatient when things don't go my way and how greedy I can be when I have the money to get whatever I want.
On a completely unrelated note, with all this talk of music and songwriting that I've been engaged in lately, I think one of the big fears I have about getting the ability to properly record my music is that I will have such incredible high expectations of myself and will let myself down if I can't deliver. The longer I wait, the longer I can put off dealing with that. Man, I just need to get over myself.
One of the great lyrical tid-bits that I found lately is from a song by matt pond pa called "New Hampshire" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znhicjyJXW8 it's the bridge and it's pure gold. Maybe it's not really the lyrics, but his delivery. It sounds like he (or the song's character) really misses his home and family. You can feel the ache.
"I’m going home back to New Hampshire
I’m so determined, I'm so determined
to lay in lakes and see my sisters
I will hit my brother
and hold my mother"
Friday, January 9, 2009
What shall I talk about today?
Lately I've been uninspired to blog, but I don't know why. Maybe I have seasonal affective disorder and I'm depressed. But I don't feel depressed. Maybe I have nothing to talk about? But I do. Maybe I don't like typing? That's it!
ANYWHO, what's new in Zeke's world? Oh not much. Amber and I went skiing last weekend at Tyrol Basin and it was a blast!!! I don't know why I ever stopped going downhill skiing. Amber taught me a few things and I did alright. I hadn't gone in about 10 years. We hope to do it again real soon. I only fell once but it was a pretty sweet spill. I think I almost did a forward flip when I hit an icy patch. Amber said I looked like a cartoon character going down a hill.
Amber's G-ma is not doing so hot and only has a few days left to live so went to visit her this week and now it's just a matter of time. So all plans are on hold until we get the phone call. She has pancreatic cancer is 84 and fought a good fight! This is like the 5th time she's had cancer and this time it finally got her. Say a prayer for her family as this is the first death they have ever delt with within the family.
Man, softball season is quickly approaching! I drafted the team email for the 2009 season and will probably send it out in a week or two to see if everyone is on board. Our goal is to win 4 games or more this year. Let's keep flooding the tub in 2009! And how awesome is it that we have Trevor Hoffmann as the new closer for the Brewers? Pretty awesome. "World Series or ... oh forget it.
Old Man and I are going to the Wisconsin - Minnesota Badger Basketball game next Thursday and I'm pumped!! Got some sweet seats and it's a Big 10 game so the place will be energized. And I got some new Badger gear so I hope to break it in.
I'm this close to purchasing the new keyboard I've been needing (wanting) so finally you'll be able to hear some quality, hopefully finished recordings in 2009. I will need Mr. Camann's assistance on a few things for sure. Things like, "How do I record a song?", etc. Also, stayed tuned for a post about my keyboard collection. Buck gave me an old keyboard he had as a kid and it Rick-Rolls you! No kidding.
While I was working out last night I had this revelation of how I wanted this particular song to sound. It's funny where inspiration finds you sometimes. So when I got home I had to write everything down so I didn't forget it.
I've been working up some plans to help out the homeless shelter in 2009. I think I may stay away from trying to get a large number of people involved. That really tends to complicate things. Keep it simple and have big results. I helped serve dinner last Friday and there were only about 80 at the shelter; usually it's much more in the winter so I didn't know what was up.
I started physical therapy on my knee this week. It's no fun. Lot's of little exercises I gotta do to build up strength in my left leg. Got to get myself in shape for the 2009 running season! If that doesn't help, then I may get arthroscopic surgery to get inside my knee to see what's going on.
Alright, time for my coffee break. Stay warm out there.
ANYWHO, what's new in Zeke's world? Oh not much. Amber and I went skiing last weekend at Tyrol Basin and it was a blast!!! I don't know why I ever stopped going downhill skiing. Amber taught me a few things and I did alright. I hadn't gone in about 10 years. We hope to do it again real soon. I only fell once but it was a pretty sweet spill. I think I almost did a forward flip when I hit an icy patch. Amber said I looked like a cartoon character going down a hill.
Amber's G-ma is not doing so hot and only has a few days left to live so went to visit her this week and now it's just a matter of time. So all plans are on hold until we get the phone call. She has pancreatic cancer is 84 and fought a good fight! This is like the 5th time she's had cancer and this time it finally got her. Say a prayer for her family as this is the first death they have ever delt with within the family.
Man, softball season is quickly approaching! I drafted the team email for the 2009 season and will probably send it out in a week or two to see if everyone is on board. Our goal is to win 4 games or more this year. Let's keep flooding the tub in 2009! And how awesome is it that we have Trevor Hoffmann as the new closer for the Brewers? Pretty awesome. "World Series or ... oh forget it.
Old Man and I are going to the Wisconsin - Minnesota Badger Basketball game next Thursday and I'm pumped!! Got some sweet seats and it's a Big 10 game so the place will be energized. And I got some new Badger gear so I hope to break it in.
I'm this close to purchasing the new keyboard I've been needing (wanting) so finally you'll be able to hear some quality, hopefully finished recordings in 2009. I will need Mr. Camann's assistance on a few things for sure. Things like, "How do I record a song?", etc. Also, stayed tuned for a post about my keyboard collection. Buck gave me an old keyboard he had as a kid and it Rick-Rolls you! No kidding.
While I was working out last night I had this revelation of how I wanted this particular song to sound. It's funny where inspiration finds you sometimes. So when I got home I had to write everything down so I didn't forget it.
I've been working up some plans to help out the homeless shelter in 2009. I think I may stay away from trying to get a large number of people involved. That really tends to complicate things. Keep it simple and have big results. I helped serve dinner last Friday and there were only about 80 at the shelter; usually it's much more in the winter so I didn't know what was up.
I started physical therapy on my knee this week. It's no fun. Lot's of little exercises I gotta do to build up strength in my left leg. Got to get myself in shape for the 2009 running season! If that doesn't help, then I may get arthroscopic surgery to get inside my knee to see what's going on.
Alright, time for my coffee break. Stay warm out there.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Twenty Three Years
Well, it's about time.
I recorded a short, rough 1 minute sample of a song I've been working on called Twenty Three Years. There are words but not in this clip.
For some reason, the file is really quiet, so you may have to turn up your volume a ton.
I call it by this particular name because the first lines of the song are:
"Twenty Three Years
and I haven't felt a thing..."
Yeah, it seems kinda dark, maybe cuz it is :-) It's a good song for the middle of the album. I wrote it as a duet with the first verse being a guy and the second verse being a gal. I was thinking of calling it I've Never Had a Broken Heart, which are some words in another verse.
Eventually, once I get proper equipment, I can do a nice, produced version of this with a gentle bass, soft chords, and perhaps have brushes on the drums.
Check it out
I recorded a short, rough 1 minute sample of a song I've been working on called Twenty Three Years. There are words but not in this clip.
For some reason, the file is really quiet, so you may have to turn up your volume a ton.
I call it by this particular name because the first lines of the song are:
"Twenty Three Years
and I haven't felt a thing..."
Yeah, it seems kinda dark, maybe cuz it is :-) It's a good song for the middle of the album. I wrote it as a duet with the first verse being a guy and the second verse being a gal. I was thinking of calling it I've Never Had a Broken Heart, which are some words in another verse.
Eventually, once I get proper equipment, I can do a nice, produced version of this with a gentle bass, soft chords, and perhaps have brushes on the drums.
Check it out
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