1) finally got my check for a shoot (yay! Bills and presents time)
2) My awesome buddy from my Blogcritics days just gave me a Blues Foundation membership for Christmas. I think he really just wants to skew votes for the BMAs a certain way, but I’m mostly in agreement with him on his choices, so I’m willing to go along with this reasoning. But seriously, this was a sweet surprise. I’m OFFICIAL now!
3) I obviously don’t know how to count and I’m excited about some CDs that just showed up.
4) Still can’t count.
In other news, I finally understand the appeal of stirrup pants. Fashion-wise, there is no appeal. As protection against the cold? I’m all over ’em. Wish I had some now.
angels’ share – noun. refers to the quantity of bourbon lost during the aging process in the charred white oak barrels. Approximately 20-30% is lost due to soakage and evaporation.
No distilleries exist in Bourbon County, KY today as the county is dry and legally not allowed to produce or sell any kind of alcoholic beverages. Oddly enough, Christian County, KY is a wet county.
An American Classic:
Per the Internal Revenue Service Code of the United States, bourbon must contain no less that 51% corn. The remaining ingredients are water, malted barley, yeast, and rye or wheat. Bourbon is aged in new charred white oak barrels. No color or flavoring is added in the production of bourbon. Bourbon got its name when barrels of the whiskey stamped with “Bourbon” (the county in KY in which it was produced) were shipped off, and people began identifying the product as such. Congress named bourbon a “distinctive product of the United States” in 1964. This was done to protect the integrity and production of the product, much like Scotch in Scotland.
If you go to this web site, you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.
This takes just 10 seconds and it’s a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you’s [sic].
Thanks for taking to time to support our military!
C’mon. It takes a couple seconds and it’ll brighten someone’s day. Santa would be proud of you for doing this.
Let’s face it, there are some songs that would never be hits in this day and age. Then again, some weren’t even hits back when they were released. But having a hit isn’t always necessary to entertain your audience. Of course, it helps if they have some idea what you’re doing. Then again, since when did musical entertainment HAVE to make sense? Sometimes music wanders into “Who’s On First” territory and, guess what? We don’t care. We’re along for the lovely lilting ride.
Three of my favorite examples of this:
I’d thought maybe I’d include songs from Kay Kyser (with whom my grandfather used to play) and Spike Jones (a family favorite), but it turned out most of their songs all made sense! Go figure.
Also, I’d like to give a “happy birthday” to my big sis! She’s a pretty amazing lady.
ThomasfuckingHawk just favorited two of my photos on Flickr. That’s kinda like having Clapton walk up to you after a show and say, “hey man, I like the way you play guitar.”
No, ThomasfuckingHawk is not the man I will see tomorrow. But this just gave me a little boost of courage right when I needed it!
Obviously I am easily impressed and flattered these days.
Two hours, 19 minutes until that plane touches down! Gotta go finish the kitchen floor and take a shower. Then I’m done.
(We’ll share the story of my trip to the doc’s for meds another time, m’kay?)
Once again, Syl Arena comes at a subject with a healthy dose of common sense and explains it carefully to those who have a difficult time understanding more technical terms (which is often me). This time, it’s not photography per se, but Operation Payback and its impact on those who are creative and/or those who earn an honest living.
Operation Payback Is An Attack Against All of Us:
I say the real targets of Operation Payback are you and me. Operation Payback claims to be fighting “against major anti-piracy & anti-freedom entities.” With all respect due to the comedic Capt’n Jack Sparrow, I don’t see how piracy and freedom are two related causes. Nor do I see how keeping me from accessing my money ($18.40 at PayPal, $0 at the Swiss bank) represents a fight for freedom. Actually, all of this only serves to alienate me from the whole Wikileaks community.
And you thought I wasn’t paying attention, didn’t you?
Hope you have a great weekend. Company hits town today and I’m planning on being too busy for anything other than fun (and a little fear as mentioned in the last post).
Filed under: Currents ~ Comments Off on Mob Mentality Sucks
I will likely have the opportunity to talk with one of my photographic idols this weekend. Last time we met, we had a lovely conversation and I followed up with an email. We’re friends on Facebook (who isn’t, though?). And once he left me a very sweet comment about one of my photographs. The thing is, that’s not enough for me. I want to pick his brains in the worst way. I want to ask him what I’m missing in my images, what I need to do to catch a break, why I see so many half-assed hacks out there earning money doing what I want to do and why I can’t have the same job. But I don’t know that 1) this particular event is really the time to ask (there’ll likely be a few hundred people there also wanting to talk with him) and/or 2) if I really want the answers to those questions.
The esteem in which I hold this man is immense. Seriously. His images are iconic in the music world. He’s RIGHT HERE! If I don’t at least attempt to ask him for his input, I will never know if he sees in me what some others have. Part of me feels like I’m so close to having something happen. Part of me feels like I’m too much of a damn dreamer. Part of me thinks it doesn’t matter what the hell anyone, even this guy, thinks of me. And then there’s that part of me that’s the eager little teacher’s pet looking for a fucking gold star and a pat on the head.
I have no courage at the moment. I think, “well, I’m going to be in the same room with him, I’ll at least talk with him. That’s enough.” Then I think, “look, if you don’t ask, perhaps you’ll miss out on the key to unlock the door between you and your dreams!”
And then my little yellow heart quivers in fear and basically wets itself while ducking behind the door of doubt and confusion.
Turkey, garlic mashed, fruit plate. Orange Fanta soda.
And it was really good.
P.S. I really like Strange Days With Bob Saget. Also, Being Erica. Both on Hulu. Oh, and Running Russell Simmons. Guilty pleasures, my friends. Guilty pleasures.
I couldn’t resist sharing this episode of Bob with you. I do recommend, however, that you start at the beginning and work your way through all the eps.
When this was shot, a couple guys from my photo group were out shooting and ran into Bob. Not me. Nooo. I was at home, sick or something. Figures. One day, Bob…one day we shall meet and I’ll be able to realize my Danny Tanner love for reals. Or not. I kinda like the foul-mouthed version better.
Yesterday was the follow up appointment with the doc. The appointment had been rescheduled since we were waiting for my nerve conduction test to be done, which it was. So I get to my appointment and end up waiting for two hours. Time spent with the doc? About 90 seconds. And no test results. Also, they were out of my meds, which means I have to make another trip down there to pick them up whenever they happen to be in stock. Not exactly good news since I’m now out of meds (thanks to the rescheduling). Oh well. At least I’m not in super bad shape at the moment. I do, however, have a lot of cleaning to do over the next two days. I have company this weekend. I’m very excited about that! [insert girlish squee here]
Fingers crossed that my meds are here before Friday. That’s all I ask.
After all that frustration earlier in the day, I got this feeling, deep inside my…eye. I was lighting a candle last night and the tip of the match flew back into my eye. Can you say ouch? I freaked. I hate anything getting near my eyes so you can imagine how much I would hate a match head — a HOT match head — flying into my eye. I was, to say the least, praying like a mofo that all would be well. I made myself tear up (easy to do when considering a burned eyeball). No damage done from what I can see…and I can see, making me exceedingly happy.
Other good news: my check engine light went off the other night. Finally. I was pretty certain it was just hitting the 92,000 mile mark. Everything else looks and sounds good. Again: happy. Means I’ll be able to make the pilgrimate to San Diego for Christmas. Oh…that reminds me that I need to get my oil changed this week.
Trying to figure out what I should get in the way of groceries for my company. Or do I just wait and go shopping with them when they’re here? I know it sounds stupid, however, I like guests. It’s nice to have a place that’s big enough to accommodate visitors. And with MOBD being gone for so long, it gets lonely here. (Little Dude comes out at the end of the month, but that’s only for a week.) I like having people around. Anyhow, we only have a couple days to hang out and I hope we can squeeze in a few fun things. I know a trip to the winery is in order. But what else should we go do? Hmm…decisions, decisions. Here’s hoping the weather holds up and I have some sort of out-of-town-guest entertainment epiphany.
Today is a very solemn day. Pearl Harbor was and always be a reminder of what can happen if we aren’t vigilant at all times.
One of the best ways to honor those who have served, who have given their lives for this country is to do something for those who are still living and serving. To that end, please take a moment to consider donating your time and/or money to With The Troops and help bring nourishing meals to the wounded, perhaps giving some a new career, and helping to strengthen their families. It’s real deal soul food. Feed their bodies and their spirits.
It is especially important that we contribute something during this time of year. Holidays are often very stressful in the best circumstances. Imagine what our military families and our injured troops must endure.
Might I be so bold as to suggest that a donation be made in the name of a loved one in lieu of a big boxed gift? Yes, I do think that’s a gift from the heart that few would turn down.
May we all be so fortunate that we can spare a few dollars to really change the lives of others.
Men and women lost their lives 69 years ago protecting this great nation. Men and women, still today, continue to put their lives on the line to uphold the ideals of Freedom and to keep us safe. Let’s honor them all and share our bounty through Cooking With The Troops.
Is it too much to ask for Google to actually remember my settings when I’m logged in? I don’t want “instant” on. I want “instant” off. That’s my setting of choice and Google never fucking remembers.
Not only that, but they’ve just gone and messed with the whole damn search engine thing so much that I’ve actually tried using other search engines. Don’t much care for them, but if Google keeps up with this crap, I may switch.
Tommy Bolin, one of the greatest guitarists ever, died 34 years ago today. He had overdosed on heroin. He was only 25.
Most people don’t know this, but Tommy Bolin is the reason I love guitar so much. I think the first album I ever appropriated from my sister was Teaser (okay, first serious album, because I don’t count the Monkees or Bobby Sherman albums as “serious albums”). It was Bolin who led me to discover other great guitarists and pretty much paved the way for my lifelong obsession with music.
Can you imagine what else Bolin might have accomplished if he’d lived longer? I mean, 25 is…you’re still just discovering yourself at 25! He was amazing! And yet there was still so much he’d yet to see and do.
Tommy Bolin. Yeah.
Filed under: Currents,Music ~ Comments Off on 34 Years Ago
My mom called a while ago, excited to tell me she was hanging a lot of her own paintings in the spare room since my sis and bro-in-law painted the walls for her. Long story behind the wall thing. Anyhow, she was very happy to be hanging her own work for a change and I’m glad she is. Her work is beautiful.
The other thing she was all excited about was that she’d taped a special on PBS: Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan In Session. She’s been playing it over and over again while she worked on restoring her spare room.
And then I told her about one of the artists I know she likes coming to San Diego in January. She’d said she would like to see him perform sometime. I’m gonna hook her up with tickets and she was actually even more excited when I said that. It’s happening on my dad’s birthday, so maybe they’ll both go. Looks like their Christmas gifts will be some ear protection.
Cracks me up. I mean, who’da thunk it? I’m scoring tickets for a blues rocker for my mom! Gotta love having a cool ass parent like that. Mind you, she’s 75 and she’s still kickin’ ass.
Damn, I raised my mama well! Only possible because she raised me well.
