Eid.

Mea culpa. I almost forgot - Abdul, Elie, John, I herewith officially wish you a joyous holiday.

Tom Lockwood CD.

Tom just finished his newest CD, and, since I played on several tracks, was kind enough to give me a copy for Xmas (gratis, that is). So, New Year's resolution number 2: Listen to said CD!

My Sound Bites.

Altogether a good pun for a musician, I'd say...
Anyhoo - I realized a long time ago that I tend to capsulize my thoughts into the equivalent of "sound bites". They're convenient because they represent (to me) my entire thought process, and they are easy to reference as a point of departure for explanations. Not that I often get requests for explanations, as some the "bites" tend to be, shall we say, contentious. That being said by way of caveat, here's another one:

submission -> suppression -> oppression

Islamic fundamentalism (in all its versions) follows this path rather unfortunately well.
Go ahead now, ask me to explain.

Gunny Link, Site Link, Quote!

For those of you looking for once-fired brass in the US (you know who you are), here's a link for you: it's Brass World. Lots of goodies to reload.
https://ssl.perfora.net/www.brassworldonline.org/sess/utn;jsessionid=15459820d69d96a/shopdata/index.shopscript
I just wish there was the equivalent in Canada.
Then there's this little blog - well-balanced and observant, especially concerning Lebanon, a country which obviously holds a special place in his heart: http://www.michaeltotten.com/
And finally a little quote which in many ways sums up what I personally feel:

"Everybody dies. Die standing up!"
--From the movie "Red Dawn"

Xmas Happiness is....

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city

- George Burns

This quote thanks to http://www.samizdata.net/blog/
It's cute and typical of George, but it certainly isn't true. At least not for me. A family of six, currently in four different locations is not something I really enjoy. Ah well.

Showbiz Story - Milton Berle

The late Uncle Milty (who I worked with on several occasions) was a perfectionist of sorts, but also had a substantial ego. And he had curious ways of making sure everyone knew how "expert" he was.
One of his tricks: Milty would walk into the band rehearsal, usually about 2 hours into the rehearsal, and stop the band in the middle of a particular number. (I don't remember which one it was now.) He would immediately point to the 3rd trumpet, and loudly announce that he had played a wrong note, and that the correct note at measure such-and-such was a B natural (or whatever - the exact note escapes me now). Sure enough, there was an error in the part, and the correct note was as specified by Uncle Milty. Pretty impressive - this guy really knows his own material!
Of course, it was a set-up. A year later, when I was playing the same show, and the same music, the same procedure took place. Scripted to the letter!
The chart was intentionally left with the mistake uncorrected so that Berle could demonstrate his command to all and sundry at the rehearsal.
Nice con job. And I think I may be one of the very few people that actually caught him at it. Other than his Music Director, who at the time was Leonard Sues, the trumpet player. He knew perfectly well what the scam was, but Berle paid him a lot, and he kept his mouth shut.

ShowBiz Stories - in the pipe.

Many a time, I have been told that I should write a book about my experiences in the music business, and some of the people I have known and worked with. Many of the names would be well-known, some not so much. I have always had 2 reactions to this - "Who, me?" and "I would probably get sued!" There could be some truth to that second one.
Brings to mind a little of Pete Barbutti: He used to do a comedy routine about Allegheny Airlines, that was very funny, but, shall we say, could be construed as somewhat less than complimentary. And people would ask "Aren't you afraid of getting sued?" His answer was: "That's a two-part question. No, I'm not afraid. And Yes, I'm being sued." (Note that he did change the name of the airline later on. I was never sure if in fact he was sued. Pete drew a lot from personal experiences for his comedy, one of the things that made him hilarious for musicians - he was/is also a fine piano player.)
With that as a preface, I give fair warning that I will be posting various and sundry stories, observations and opinions about the characters I have known over the years in the music profession. (Of course starting with the one above about Pete, one of the great talented guys on the comedy profession.)

Love and Submission

In this time of differences, some drastic, some hostile, some more gentle, a thought passes me:
Love gives joy. Submission gives ....
Just an observation.

Here's a little something from Geek Gab (who has the wonderful virtue of being also a Canuck like yours truly) , with my answers as they came to me:

I say … and you think … ?

1. Hardball :: Cricket (ever been hit by a cricket ball?)
2. Sleepless :: Night
3. Graduation :: Day (the song, that is)
4. Presents :: Birthday (odd considering it's Dec 24)
5. Toe :: Blake (think hockey)
6. Lotion :: Body
7. Snicker :: Chocolate (I don't even like them)
8. Eve :: Three Faces (think movie)
9. Investment :: Time
10. Pain :: Bread (I guess Toe Blake - see above - got me thinking in French)

Thinking politicans?

The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.

- H.L. Mencken

What happens when (with a little luck, and some mistakes on the part of politicians) some one of this ilk is actually elected to office?

Well, OK, it could actually happen

P89 Lockup! Fix Fix Fix.

AHA. It turns out that I wasn't paying enough attention. While allowing the slide to move forward slowly, the extractor spring was so strong, it was preventing the hook from clearing the cartridge rim, and the action wasn't locking up. The spring on the extractor is obviously pretty strong (yay) and the recoil spring wasn't heavy enough to push the slide all the way forward. I guess that's not a bad thing, as it means the extractor is probably excellent (certainly seems so).
BUT, the double-action trigger is still, after lots of working, about 9#. I would like to get it down to about 6-6.5.
Soooo, a 19# hammer spring, and a heavier recoil spring it is. Especially since now I'm not sure I trust the thing. No kB for me.

P89 Recoil guide.

I am beginning to suspect that Gargamel's recoil spring is not copacetic. Sometimes, when I cycle the action slowly (by hand), the guide rod does not retract into the slide completely. Not good. The cartridge might not seat properly and it could fire out-of-battery. KaBOOM! Definitely NOT GOOD. When I let the action cycle normally, it's fine.
Bad Spring! Bad Bad Spring! You can be replaced!
I might as well replace the mainspring with a Wolff's 19lb while I'm at it. We shall see.

Cirrus-Bow

Hmm. It's the little things, sometimes.
On the way home, after enduring considerable frustration at the renovation project, I was in a rotten mood. One things works, two things are broken, one thing gets fixed, three other things break...grrr. So here I am, trudging home (and I mean trudging), I look up at the very grey sky, thinking that it begins to reflect my state of mind, and...a sliver of a rainbow. Ha.
WAY up, probably in the cirro-stratus. What's more, it was invisible without the sunglasses I was wearing! So here I was, with my own personal cirrus-bow.
A message, perhaps?

Meyers-Briggs profile. Ha.

As if you couldn't tell...I come out as INTJ. And if you REALLY want to know what that means, here it is:

INTJs generally have the following traits:

· Able to absorb extremely complex theoretical and complex material
· Driven to create order and structure from theoretical abstractions
· Supreme strategists
· Future-oriented
· See the global, “big picture”
· Strong insights and intuitions, which they trust implicitly
· Think “outside the box”
· Value their own opinions over others
· Love difficult theoretical challenges
· Bored when dealing with mundane routine
· Value knowledge and efficiency
· Have no patience with inefficiency and confusion
· Have very high standards for performance, which they apply to themselves and others
· Reserved and detached from others
· Calm, collected and analytical
· Extremely logical and rational
· Original and independent
· Natural leaders, but will follow only those they can fully support
· Creative, ingenious, innovative, and resourceful
· Work best alone and prefer to work alone

And it fits like a glove, even though I try to hide it, and rarely admit any of it to non-family. I especially like the "supreme strategists" part. (I often fool with "Harpoon" - the naval strategy/tactics game - and some of the scenarios I can play so one-sidedly (is that a word?) as to be boring.)
I also used to be a member of the now-defunct Futures Research Society based in California. Hmmm. But who listens anyway?

---

Disturbed Xmas

I'm not sure whether some of these are funny or sad, especially in view of my ASpie-ish-ness; but for your edification - Xmas Carols for the disturbed (or is it FROM the disturbed?):

Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear?
Multiple Personality Disorder - I Three Kings of Orient Are
Dementia - I Think I'll Be Home for Christmas
Narcissistic - Hark the Herald Angels Sing about Me
Manic - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and buses and Trucks and Trees and...
Paranoid - Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
Borderline Personality Disorder - Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
Attention Deficit Disorder - Silent Night, Holy ooooh look at the Froggy, Can I Have a Chocolate, Why is France So Far Away?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Antisocial personality disorder - We Wish You a Merry Christmas, a Long, Long Way Away From Here
Psychotic personality - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas While I Cut Out Your Liver And Burn Down Your House
Drug-addicted - Angels We Have Heard While High
Alcoholic - Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Depressive - Silent Dark Black Night That Never Ends
Dyslexic - The Little Drummer Yob

SMS - j1N6L3 b3LLz r0xx!!!!LOL OMG ROFL!!111onety-one111!

Many thanks to "Momentary Lapses of Insanity" for this.

Possessions are of 2 classes.

My friend Richard Knight said something rather profound this afternoon.
As my previous post indicated, I had a theft problem earlier. And I was expounding to him on the questionable digestion and dubious parentage of the perpetrators.
So he said "You know, when you die, every thing you own goes into two categories - either your heirs fight over it, or they throw it out."
Now there's a dose of reality!

Thefts! *RCOB!

Well, last night about 11:00 pm, I heard a noise downstairs. Lo and behold, the 2 bicycles that were in the basement are gone! !@#$!#@$%%^^&
They weren't good bikes, they were given to me, and if anyone had bothered to ask, I would have given them away. I was planning on donating them to charity anyway.
BUT NO. Some ^&*(@ has to steal them instead.
And then, this morning, I go to the house I'm repairing, and I find that my drywall spreaders have been taken - undoubtedly by the Gary fellow that just moved out on the weekend. Not even good equipment, simple cheapo plastic stuff, but some &*(^^# decided they needed them more than I did. And I know I cannot prove a thing. RCOB!
I think I need a trip to the range with Gargamel (one of my Rugers), and a LOT of ammunition....
*RCOB - from Kim DuToit - Red Curtain of Blood

Now this is a little ridiculous!

It might even be true. But unlikely for an ASpie.

Your Dominant Thinking Style: Exploring

You thrive on the unknown and unpredictable. Novelty is your middle name. You are a challenger. You tend to challenge common assumptions and beliefs. An expert inventor and problem solver, you approach everything from new angles. You show people how to question their models of the world.

What's Your Thinking Style?

Renovation Frustration

Some people's children!
I was over at the house I'm working on, and took out another 2 bags of garbage (LARGE bags of garbage). I took out two LARGE bags a couple of days ago. And it seems like I did exactly nothing. The way some people live!
Problem is, of course, that the cleaning, at least elementary cleaning, must be done before some of the renovation work can be started. Two of the bedrooms are still so full of junk that I cannot even get near the windows. Aargh. And I know the storm windows need work/repair/replacing. And it's starting to get cold outside. Canada does that in the winter!
Anyone have a spare dumpster?

Musicians' Survey - Ack.

Somebody at the University of Toronto (I think) is conducting a survey of working musicians. With the support of AFM Canada. And some of the musicians are commenting (mostly negatively) in one of the forums I subscribe to. I must admit to being one of the harsh critics.
Question: Why do idiots construct surveys about a business they know nothing about?
It's a further example of the "ivory tower syndrome" of academics, where they are so far removed from the pragmatic aspects of their subjects-of-research that their questions, and subsequent answers, are essentially useless.
In this particular case, it is impossible to proceeed more than 1/4 into the survey without either quitting, or fabricating answers to conform with their pre-determined choices.
The danger is, of course, that "experts" (the researchers) will then be in a position to pontificate concerning the business, with the attendant deleterious effects.
A PhD may be a union card, but it's certainly no indication of common-sense.

Blazin' - Joe Sanders

Well, this one's done! Another arrangement in the can.
Blazin', a tune written by Joe Sanders in the 1920's. Arranged for contemporary (well, sort-of) jazz band - Clarinet, Alto, 2 Tenors, 4 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Piano, Bass, Drums.
Clips along, this one does, at quarter-note = 230. But, it should be playable by a decent university-level ensemble.
Happy dance!

Another ASpie sign - humor is as humor does.

I suddenly remembered another little trait that I have noticed for many years.
People often used to assume that I was joking when I was saying something serious, and thought that I was being serious when I was joking!
I have remarked on this to friends on occasion, I suppose more as a question - i.e. Why does this happen? Never got a useful answer.
OTOH, it has led to a useful "script" - I learn/remember jokes told by professional comics, and then practice them (OK, not that much practice). And I have acquired a little talent for telling jokes now. BTW, they are all the old style of joke, ala Henny Youngman or Groucho Max. Nice, short quickies, sometimes one-liners. And the old jokes are useful, because many people have never heard them. (Helps that I'm old enough to know them, hahaha, I guess.)
Personally I detest dirty jokes. The old saying used to be (among pros anyway) that if you have to be dirty to be funny, you're not funny. (e.g. Eddie Murphy is not funny.)
And it is Sooo gratifying to have people laugh when you actually planned it!

Fundamentalist Islam and Nazism.

The parallels are terrifying. Especially worrisome to me is the use of the "energies" of the lower-class youth to fuel the hatreds of the fundamentalists. Hitler did exactly that, too.
I would suggest, for those who think this is overstating the case, that they read the history of the rise of the Nazi party, and especially Mein Kampf. It's a textbook for the methods to power, and it's being used now, as we speak. (Need I remind anyone of the relative success of Nazism, and its dire consequences? Especially to those who embraced or accepted Nazism.)
Also distressing is the blindness of the press (in the US at least) to their use by fundamentalists. It would indeed be useful and enlightening if members of the press discovered their actual status as infidels before they were wiped out. It astounds me that they do not realize they are merely tools used to defeat themselves and the freedom of the press they so love to spout.
Fundamentalist Islam justifies genocide with the argument that infidels are not really human beings. I cannot accept that A___h demands death of one of his own creations rather than the freedom of that creation to determine its own eternal fate.

First Snow.

Well, it snowed a little this morning. And I mean a little. Just enough to be very scenic, but not enough to be a nuisance, let alone anything more substantial. It was very nice early, when there was no traffic to ruin it with noise and pollution. Sometimes, the world seems pretty good.

Bizarre Dream - Exorcism!

For those who may guess, the term "sodium dreams" comes from the fact that too much intake of sodium does two things to me: raises my blood pressure, and gives me dreams.
And last night was a good one! Totally bizarre, even by dream standards (at least mine, anyway).
I exorcised a demon, from myself into an amultet.
With some advice and encouragement from faceless friends, and the assistance of my SO, I used a broken (!?) rapier (sword) to flow the essence of the demon from me into a special stone that then held the demon, who was thenceforth unable to escape. The force required made me collapse and temporarily lose consciousness (in a dream no less!). The dream ended with me pondering how to care for, or dispose of, the stone so that the demon would never escape. (No, I could not break the stone, that would allow it to escape.)
Hmmm. As someone advised, it means that I can be the architect of my own salvation! I guess that certainly is a positive spin on that one.

Taliban and drugs.

Has anyone yet mentioned that the Taliban WANT drug production to escalate.
Obvious - let the infidel die from his own indulgence in sinful practices. And we get some cash as well. How can you beat that kind of deal? Money and Faith, both rewarded.

Arrangements - Hoorah

Well, it turns out that I have done more band arrangements than I thought. I just took a count, and 20 are complete!
Of course, that's not to say they are perfect, but they are playable, and in the main, pretty good (by my inestimable standards).
Yay me. Nice to have a feeling of accomplishment.

Rainy Days and....

Bleh. It's all wet everywhere. Including me.
I went to the store - about a 5 mile walk there and back - fine when I left, just overcast. Then slowly, inch by inch, bit by bit. Sodden I was, I tell you.
And so it came to pass that he worked on jazz band arrangements of Blazin', and You'll Cry for Me But I'll Be Gone. Not too speedily either, I might add. But - 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.
Pfeh. Rain. Gives me cabin fever big time.

Arrangements played!?

Well yesterday AM, the "old-guys-band" played through 5 of my arrangements. Oh boy.
They love them! But they also mangle them horribly (no offense is intended - they are difficult). The 1920's style is so foreign to musicians raised on swing, that they really struggle with some of the characteristic figures (both rhythmic and tonal).
And the accidentals! Ho boy. Sharps and flats where they don't expect them (aka lots of parallels), and a type of polychoral aranging that is very foreign to the big-band swing style.
BUT, by the end of the rehearsal, they were starting to "get" some of it. Very gratifying.
Now I just need to polish, simplify, improve. Basically make them more playable, and more readable. I would like to develop arrangements that will work 60-70% on a first read-through. Not sure that's possible while retaining the style, but if it can be done, I will do it. And now I know for certain that I can do it.
BTW - I always liked the !? thingy - reminds me of chess commentators!?

Prohibition Blues Arrangement - Done.

Well, the arrangment of Prohibition Blues is done.
15 piece - 1 clarinet, 1 alto, 2 tenors, 1 bari, 4 trumpets, 3 bones, piano, bass, drums.
Pretty close to standard modenr jazz band. We'll see tomorrow when the guys give it a first sight-reading.
BTW - that makes 15 of these little suckers that are finished.

Brown Sugar - NOT the Stones!

Well, I discovered something new (for me anyway) about coffee.
I have NEVER had a knack for making coffee. Nope. No way. Most things I set my mind to - such as it is - I can usually do very well. But - not coffee. Java-making is a black art that has always evaded all my varied attempts.
So, on a whim, this week, I tried my usual cup of disgusting Instant Maxwell House with a large dollop (like that word - certainly visually interesting) of dark brown sugar. Voila! It's palatable.
Not great, but certainly a large improvmement over my usual pitiful efforts. Three guesses what my new coffeee habit will be, and the first four don't count.

Aspie tests - Oop. Ack.

Well, I took some more Asperger's recognition/diagnosis tests.
Except for the facial-recognition thingy, I scored smack in the middle of the AS population.
In fact, from the tests, I am a text-book case of high-functioning autism aka Aperger's Syndrome.
I'm not sure quite how to take that/this. But I think I am mostly relieved/happy.
I always like explanations, and this provides a whole basket-full.
But...what does it all mean? How can this help? What can I do? How does this help?

GRE Results!! (Again)

So, my son, aka Will, got his letter from ETS with his "official" results.
Hoo-rah.
His writing part was disappointing, but....
98th percentile on verbal!
OK, way to go. A decent shot at a good grad school. I was ecstatic. And if you know me, I don't get ecstatic very often. I was somewhat wired-up for several hours. Once again:
Hoo-rah.

Frosty Me

Well I went for my usual walk this AM - frost on the ground, etc., and all the bare trees. Except for one "weeping birch" (I think that's the usual term) which had all its golden leaves still in place. Very impressive looking in an odd-sort-of way. The weeping part certainly made its point, with all the branches bent over like someone's head bent over, with their face hidden. And the leaves hanging like blonde hair, hiding the sadness. Hmmmm. Nature mimics life?
Well, then I biked to the market. That's about 3 miles; not a big deal usually. But there was FOG. And I mean fog. Fog? Visibility was about 50-75 yards. And me (soooo intelligent) all dressed in black. Like the man said in The Dam Busters - "This is bloody dangerous." Well, it certainly made me aware of the fragility of life, as they say.
And here I am cycling away - well, not really very fast - and thinking away (I do that part faster). Anyhoo, when I got to the market, I realized I was frosted. On my coat and the front part of my gloves where they caught most of the wind from biking. A nice neat silver frosting. Me! Frosty!
Well, it's the little things, anyway.
The average person produces nothing but their own existence.
(That's what frosted cycling does to your mind!)

Prohibition Blues

No. Nothing is being prohibited here. That's just the name of latest tune I'm arranging.
At first, I was not interested in it at all - kind of a tuneful piece of nothing, really. But then I realized I have been doing two things - arranging fast tunes, because they sound impressive (and look that way on the page also), and arranging difficult tunes. The difficult part especially. I guess for the personal challenge.
But that means the band can't really play them well enough. They're a technical challenge for me with all the counterpoint, but that sort-of misses the ultimate point.
Which is: I want these arrangements to be playable. And I want them to be played, aka saleable, aka sold to amateur and school bands.
Soooooo - Prohibition Blues it is. In fact, the last two have been "easy". As in playable by a decent university ensemble.
Starting to get a decent stock of material too. This will make 15 of them that are in-the-can.
Starting to think now about how to market them.
Of course it would help if I could figure out how to make a decent recording of them, so potential users could actually hear how they sound!

Windows Bah (No not the Microsoft kind...)

Well yesterday was my attempt at windows again. And a good one it was. But not to be.
Frustration (a): Don't ever buy exterior white latex paint (on sale) at Canadian Tire. Trash, traaaash. Thin, no coverage, no body. Jeez. Close to useless. I was trying to put a protective coat on the outside of the wooden sashes that I had just reglazed. Phooey. Canadian Tire Paint = total waste of time. Maybe I can use it up later on the front porch or something. Anyway, lesson learned. Buy paint from paint people. Duh. I knew that.
Frustration (b): Sash cords are mostly broken (OK, no surprise there, they are 82 years old - the originals that were installed with the house. How do I know? Funny you should ask.) So - take the sashes (plural!) out and look for the covering for that "access hatch" to the counterweights. Nope. No such animal. The original builders didn't bother with that little improvement. I guess in 1922 everything lasted forever and din't need replacing. So. Pull off the outer frame of the window, assuming that there will be access behind the mouldings. This usually works. Nope. Deal? NO DEAL! Slab of wood, slab of palster. Very nice plaster job too. But no space, no access. No counterweights, no new sash cords. So now what, you ask. (Thought you'ld never ask.) Three alternatives - 1) fuggetaboudit, 2) smash some of the plaster to get access, 3) pry off some more of the frame to get at them. Hobson's choice. Pfeh.
Not done yet....
Frustration (c): I reversed my "labels" on the window glasses, so I "uninstalled" the 3rd floor sash just in time to find out the glass didn't fit. What the? okokokok. I recognize my mistake, so I'll just tape off the window temporarily and put the glass in the other window, where it fits (yay). Nope. I pull off the mouldings (it's an exterior multi-pane storm, and it isn't puttied, the glass is just held in place by the mouldings) and the brads that held the mouldings, and the glass, can't be removed, because I did NOT bring the pliers along (afraid they might get stolen by the tenant). Anyway, they must be removed, because the new glass is thicker than the old glass, and it WILL NOT FIT unless I remove the brads. Aargh.
Solution: A little hand-flapping followed by 3 bags of garbage out the door to make me feel that I had actually not totally wasted my time.
Rats.
Double Rats.

BTW - this post was originally 3 run-on sentences. I did some decent editing, yes?

Fluorescent Lights - Bah!

So I forgot to mention...
That stupid election work took place in a room, a small room mind you, entirely lit by fluorescents.
Very Nice, Very Bright.
Except that after an hour I had a headache the size of Kansas.
Certain types of fluorescents I react to VERY strongly. Ordinarily I would just leave. But the job of R.O. (see previous post) entailed staying put for the entire 10 hours that the polls were open.
OTOH, walking home afterwards, the headache decreased to the environs of Kansas City within 5 minutes of leaving. But it took me most of yesterday to get really recovered. Drat.

Sometimes I wish I was normal. I know, I know, be careful what you wish for...

Election work

Well, yesterday was municipal election day here, and I worked as a Voter Registration Officer.
Interesting with the variety of people that come through.
But, gee whiz, only about a 25% voter turnout. That's terrible. What has happened to civic duty? What has happened to "making a difference"?
Abdication of choice means that others choose for you. Is that really what you want?
OTOH, it is somewhat stressful for me with all those people. But not too bad, since I have done it several times before, and feel pretty much in control all the time. No handflapping.
And I get to tell my bad jokes to the other workers, who of course have never heard them before.
There are no new jokes, just new audiences.
Aah, the virtues of many years in show-biz!

Guitar Player's Album

So, the guitar player who I play with some weeks has his new album almost completed.
And I'm on a couple of tracks (playing acoustic bass). So we'll see when it is pressed - from what I have heard of the scratch tracks and partials, it should be quite good.
All acoustic, too. We shall see, we shall see.

Armistice/Rememberance Day Service

I stood, and it was cold.
Not much of an offering to those who gave everything they had.
But I stood. And it was cold.

Rememberance Day - Evidently not.

So it seems that our local city council is taking Friday the 10th off as a holiday; for Rememberance Day (aka Armistice Day, aka if you don't know why it's a special day, you probably will engage in the same stupid behaviour that made the holiday occur in the first place).
Very well, take a holiday on the wrong day because it so happens you aren't working on the correct day. Just an excuse for a free day. Bah.
But that's just quasi-bad. Here's what really got me.
The public libraries are also taking the Friday off; but they are open on Saturday the 11th!
Very nice.
Politicians. I hope the ghost of George Patton infests your armpits on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, every year from now until eternity.
(And YES, I spelled it that way on purpose.)

The Moon Was Yellow

Not.
Actually, the moon yesterday morning (6:50Am local time, just before sunrise) was a brilliant WHITE.
I don't think I have ever seen it so white, pristine, clear. It was near the Western horizon, and in that area, the industrial smog tends to discolor everything. But not yesterday - maybe because it was a Monday, and the air was clearer than usual. (Strange word that - clear-er.)
But the reference in the title is to an old song by that name - the juxtaposition just seemed right.

9mm dies.

Hah. Much to my surprise, I won a set of reloading dies on Ebay!
Nice RCBS tungsten-carbide set of 3 dies. And cheap.
Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win.
I don't even like to play.
But this time,
I won.

I hope this formats as nicely on the blog as it does in the window; so artiste. But it probably won't, so what the heck.

Back to arranging Down and Out Blues.

Comments - DUH

So here I am saying YMBAAI can leave comments, and I would like that, and I forget to turn on the comments thingy.
OKOKOKOK - done.

GRE GREAT

William (No.2 son) took his GRE this morning. Aargh.
NO AARGH!
Scores were Verbal 720, Quantitative 710.
Good enough for a lot of good schools. I believe I am pleased. What's more I believe he is pleased/relieved.
Onward to Grad school! Yay! (Of course WHICH one now becomes the issue at hand.)

Leaves Falling Rain

So I took my usual walk this morning about 6:30, before sunrise, when it's quiet, with my usual hot tea with sugar and milk. Routine that pleases.
And all the yellow maple trees were disrobing.
There were so many leaves falling all at once; under one tree it sounded just like light rain.

Aspie?

If any of you bloggers out there are Aspie's (you know who you are), I would like to hear from you.(About blogging and....)

WMD (and population explosion)

I find it interesting (and somewhat unsettling) that the ability of weapons to kill people in quantity has nicely kept up with the rapidly increasing population of this planet. IOW, as the population has begun to increase exponentially (over the last several hundred years or so), our ability to kill each other in mass quantities has also kept pace.
Swords, clubs and knives kill individuals; cannons kill small groups; bombs kill dozens or hundreds. A nuke can kill millions.
Now the human race is in a situation where the planet has questionable ability to support all of us, and we also have the ability to, within minutes, wipe most of the population that the earth cannot support.
An economist friend of mine always said that the Earth cannot support more than 2 billion humans. Do we now have tha capacity to eliminate 4-5 billion humans with weaponry? Properly targeted, with NBC weapons, I suspect so.
With the proliferation of WMD's, the probability rises exponentially, along with the population.
Will Charles Darwin, or Thomas Malthus (or Gaia, or whoever) win this one again?

Gunther is getting a grip!

OK - my guns (actually only pistols, since they have personalities) have names.
Gunther is my Ruger target pistol. A nice Mark II target model in stainless steel. Sharp-looking!
And Gunther will be receiving new Hogue grips real soon now. Rosewood, too, no less!
Pictures to follow, once I figure out how to do that.

Proles, Welfare, and Gambling

I realize this is not a new concept, but it occurred to me this afternoon (while observing the lower echelons of the species) that as humanity achieves more and more independence from "labour" in bulk - i.e. the masses labouring for their own survival - the less purpose the poorer examples of the species serve. And this is interestingly coupled with a greater and greater reliance, by them, on the public welfare system.
I see, every day, people whose only purpose in life is to utilize (read "abuse") the system of public wlefare for their own idleness and enjoyment. They make no attempt to be useful, either to themselves or to others. Ultimate egocentrism, and sponsored by the welfare system.
One obvious visual example of this is the huge iuncrease in obesity among the welfare classes. We now have the reverse of centuries ago, when girth was a visual manifestration of wealth and prosperity. Now it is the opposite - educated, well-to-do people are much more fit than the average.
A second example is the use of gambling facilities by the lower socio-economic classes. I se it, since I live in a city where we have a local "casino", and I live only a short walking distance away. It's pathetic, really - the gambling system serves as a type of regressive taxation system, where those least able to afford losses are the most attracted to gambling. And I fail to see any economic value to casinos. They do not generate wealth, they only redistribute money. And the truly pathetic comment is that governments are beginning, at least in Canada are starting to rely on the revenue generated by gambling.
Not good, I tell you. Not good.

Dreary Day and Flamin' Mamie

My, it is distinctly dreary outside. Rainy, windy, dull, overcast (of course). Generally blah.
And I cannot concentrate on arrangements for more than about 40-45 minutes at a sitting. My ears get fried, my head hurts, and I run dry. (Flamin' Mamie then begins to suffer badly.)
Doing 15-piece jazz-band arranging has given me immense respect for those arrangers who did it all in their heads. Half the ideas I have don't work, not even on paper - how did they fare when the band played the arangement the first time? Trepidation, I tell you.
The struggle (yes. that's the right word) to fill out parts, keep the players interested, provide the right mix and variety of sonorities, and stay within the style of the originals...wow.
Drives me crazy sometimes. OK - short trip. But sometimes, just sometimes, it works wonderfully.
And besides - we will probably have a concert next spring of the chorus and the 15-piece band, with MY ARRANGEMENTS of all the 1920's material. WOOHOO. (or maybe hoo-rah, if you get the reference)

Firsters

So - a first blog post. I presume nothing, and await the results, if any.