Sunday, February 6
Wednesday, February 2
Awesome... indeed
If you have read my blog in the past you will know that I have been trying to build my own (or assemble is probably more accurate) electric guitar for a while.
Well it's finished. Yay. It took about ten years and a couple of false starts and some incomplete projects, but it is finally done. And I am pretty pleased with the results.
So hello to 'Beany 1'. It's a strat type guitar that I have built with some specific components that I like.
Fender Highway One nitro finished body - cream and it's a little beaten up - looks great
Warmoth Imbuia neck, with a compound radius, and ebony fingerboard/pearl markers, which i finished in satin with Gunstock oil and then some Gunstock wax - just on the back as the fingerboard is ebony and doesnt need finishing.
Earvana compensated nut
Grover locking tuners
Fender classic trem with Graphtech graphite saddles
(since this was taken I also added Graphtech graphite string trees to the headstock)
The electronics are EMG DG21s - the David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd) signature set.
It is a pretty rocking and loud as hell - I am having fun with it. What's next?
Against Me at Slims
Fun show at Slims on Monday. Check out the new album White Crosses, it's a raucous blast of punkiness.
Tuesday, January 4
Absence Resolves Much
In have spent the last week camped in the old family home in England, wrapped in the warmth of family, food and a wood burning stove.
Outside the snow was unusual. I don't remember snow at Christmas for about 30 years but it was a fun distraction. That same snow had kept me from getting to England for a week of my supposed 2 week vacation. Much to the chagrin of my mother and family. Snow in Chicago and snow at Heathrow were trying to keep me stateside. But for the grace of Kathy at United reservations, I may not have got here at all. She found me a cancellation on a direct flight from SFO which got me there on Christmas Eve rather than on the 28th.
So I am sat at 34000ft over the atlantic, heading back to the bay, via Chicago. The clouds lay underneath, a soft candy floss snowscape, I peer out of the window wondering what this year will have in store for me.
This year changed more than I could have imagined. Personally and professionally I hit some rough road, had to steer to avoid some major potholes, hit others, sustained some damage, repaired and seemed to come out the other side pretty well.
The break up with Rue was a blindside that was staring me right in the face. It was hiding, semi sized in a blindspot I had created out of pride and ego. I didn't take it well. But you learn through mistakes.
She is talented, will be successful and is still my friend, and hopefully will always be. There is nothing that people can say that will change the fact that she changed my life forever, for the better.
Who I am now is contributable in a large way to her. Giving me confidence in myself, to express my personality and individuality. But also to just be happy again. There is a road to travel here, and it's always in progress but Rue showed me the right exit to take. I like where it is taking me.
We always talked about people traveling paths in their lives, sometimes they intersect for a period, long or short, and then move apart. Our road trip together was longer than most, shorter than some but incredible none the less.
I became an uncle this year, in August. That wasn't something I was expecting either. Seeing Matt and Cas with their daughter, my niece, Olive, was an extraordinary experience. She is adorable, and I think based on her parents genes will be both smart and attractive. She has a lot in life to look forward to. I also know that seeing and playing with Olive has made me revise my perception of having my own kids from maybe/not against the idea to one of maybe/and I hope they don't cry as much at night! I hope the genetics of a mellow partner translate to a baby that would sleep more.
Having hours to kill on flights has given me plenty of time to think about what I need and want. 2011 will be the year to set that all in motion, to work on me and not coast along.
I have plans for me, my professional career, my personal life. Not that it needs a revamp or changing entirely. But I need to take a look at some of the details and work out what is right for me. It won't be hard, or frightening, but it's time to take some control of my destiny. One of my best friends told me that he was really proud of the place that I was in. I am happy and compared with a few years ago I am entirely a different person.
I am not sure what the next couple of months hold. But they are going to be different. I have met some incredible people in the last few months. Some funny, some talented, others smart and interesting and one just simply gorgeous. There have been a couple that aren't quite as sane. I wish those ones luck ;)
Starting 2011 in a very different place from last year is certainly interesting. I know I have great hopes for what the year will bring and with who. Definitely a journey I am looking forward to.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Outside the snow was unusual. I don't remember snow at Christmas for about 30 years but it was a fun distraction. That same snow had kept me from getting to England for a week of my supposed 2 week vacation. Much to the chagrin of my mother and family. Snow in Chicago and snow at Heathrow were trying to keep me stateside. But for the grace of Kathy at United reservations, I may not have got here at all. She found me a cancellation on a direct flight from SFO which got me there on Christmas Eve rather than on the 28th.
So I am sat at 34000ft over the atlantic, heading back to the bay, via Chicago. The clouds lay underneath, a soft candy floss snowscape, I peer out of the window wondering what this year will have in store for me.
This year changed more than I could have imagined. Personally and professionally I hit some rough road, had to steer to avoid some major potholes, hit others, sustained some damage, repaired and seemed to come out the other side pretty well.
The break up with Rue was a blindside that was staring me right in the face. It was hiding, semi sized in a blindspot I had created out of pride and ego. I didn't take it well. But you learn through mistakes.
She is talented, will be successful and is still my friend, and hopefully will always be. There is nothing that people can say that will change the fact that she changed my life forever, for the better.
Who I am now is contributable in a large way to her. Giving me confidence in myself, to express my personality and individuality. But also to just be happy again. There is a road to travel here, and it's always in progress but Rue showed me the right exit to take. I like where it is taking me.
We always talked about people traveling paths in their lives, sometimes they intersect for a period, long or short, and then move apart. Our road trip together was longer than most, shorter than some but incredible none the less.
I became an uncle this year, in August. That wasn't something I was expecting either. Seeing Matt and Cas with their daughter, my niece, Olive, was an extraordinary experience. She is adorable, and I think based on her parents genes will be both smart and attractive. She has a lot in life to look forward to. I also know that seeing and playing with Olive has made me revise my perception of having my own kids from maybe/not against the idea to one of maybe/and I hope they don't cry as much at night! I hope the genetics of a mellow partner translate to a baby that would sleep more.
Having hours to kill on flights has given me plenty of time to think about what I need and want. 2011 will be the year to set that all in motion, to work on me and not coast along.
I have plans for me, my professional career, my personal life. Not that it needs a revamp or changing entirely. But I need to take a look at some of the details and work out what is right for me. It won't be hard, or frightening, but it's time to take some control of my destiny. One of my best friends told me that he was really proud of the place that I was in. I am happy and compared with a few years ago I am entirely a different person.
I am not sure what the next couple of months hold. But they are going to be different. I have met some incredible people in the last few months. Some funny, some talented, others smart and interesting and one just simply gorgeous. There have been a couple that aren't quite as sane. I wish those ones luck ;)
Starting 2011 in a very different place from last year is certainly interesting. I know I have great hopes for what the year will bring and with who. Definitely a journey I am looking forward to.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Mid Atlantic UA929 Seat 26K
Sunday, December 19
Object Writing Exercise: Discount
Why are we obsessed with premium and expensive? What's wrong with less expensive? Is that the same as cheap?
Is there a thrill in finding a bargain? She certainly thought so. She wanted that new bag, but the sticker shock of the retail tag was a little too much to bear. That is nearly next month's rent payment. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, but that bag would look amazing and would shut up Angela. She wanted to see the look on her face when she walked into the party this week, that facade that hide the green eyed monster inside her.
Is the cost worth the hardship this month? A couple less mochas, well a lot fewer, and some nights in watching tv, that wouldn't be so bad. And she thought that if she did want to get out, then she was pretty sure that Daniel would take her out. He was nice, good for a meal ticket at the moment, not sure if he was marriage material, but the fact at he was seeing her and not Angela was definitely worth putting up with him.
She fingered the lines of the credit card in her purse, raised surfaces, silently screaming a Braille taunt to her, go on, just hand me over... It will be painless. Its credit after all.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Is there a thrill in finding a bargain? She certainly thought so. She wanted that new bag, but the sticker shock of the retail tag was a little too much to bear. That is nearly next month's rent payment. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, but that bag would look amazing and would shut up Angela. She wanted to see the look on her face when she walked into the party this week, that facade that hide the green eyed monster inside her.
Is the cost worth the hardship this month? A couple less mochas, well a lot fewer, and some nights in watching tv, that wouldn't be so bad. And she thought that if she did want to get out, then she was pretty sure that Daniel would take her out. He was nice, good for a meal ticket at the moment, not sure if he was marriage material, but the fact at he was seeing her and not Angela was definitely worth putting up with him.
She fingered the lines of the credit card in her purse, raised surfaces, silently screaming a Braille taunt to her, go on, just hand me over... It will be painless. Its credit after all.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, December 18
Object Writing Exercise: Heartthrob
He knew it. He could see it in their faces, the looks of desire, want.
And he played to it, it hadn't hurt him so far. He could get anyone to help him, give him a favour, lend a hand or offer their hand.. And more.
It was always that way. Thick rimmed glasses, a retainer and spots. There was a time that nobody paid a second glance. He drifted around the streets invisible to all, women, men. Then one day it changed. No more spots, contacts and a haircut, new t shirts and the approving looks started rolling in. Then the advances. How did he play this, he wasn't used to the attention but he learned to like it.
Remembering the first touches of a girl. Something months before he was resigned to never knowing. The electricity of her fingers, her lips. How the sound of a caught breath made his heart beat that touch faster. How the scent of perfume made everything else seem less important.
Now the world was laid out in front of him. Throwing itself at his feet. It owed him a little for all the years of obscurity. Now it was his turn to reap the benefits.Is this what a movie star or sportsman feels like? Ten feet tall and unstoppable? It was a good feeling.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
And he played to it, it hadn't hurt him so far. He could get anyone to help him, give him a favour, lend a hand or offer their hand.. And more.
It was always that way. Thick rimmed glasses, a retainer and spots. There was a time that nobody paid a second glance. He drifted around the streets invisible to all, women, men. Then one day it changed. No more spots, contacts and a haircut, new t shirts and the approving looks started rolling in. Then the advances. How did he play this, he wasn't used to the attention but he learned to like it.
Remembering the first touches of a girl. Something months before he was resigned to never knowing. The electricity of her fingers, her lips. How the sound of a caught breath made his heart beat that touch faster. How the scent of perfume made everything else seem less important.
Now the world was laid out in front of him. Throwing itself at his feet. It owed him a little for all the years of obscurity. Now it was his turn to reap the benefits.Is this what a movie star or sportsman feels like? Ten feet tall and unstoppable? It was a good feeling.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, December 17
Object Writing Exercise - Phosphorescence (10 Mins)
We spent the time wrapped in each other,
bodies tangled in the half light of curtained mornings
Blue brown light filtering through the depths of the room
Giving your silhouette an angelic glow
I ran my hand over your hip and along your waist
telling you one thing, thinking something very different
All the time, you filled my nostrils, my mind
the lingering of your perfume ever present.
Even now days and nights later, in the dark of night,
I still catch that unmistakable hint of your hair, your skin
It all comes flooding back
And in my half sleep, I still see the glow of your outline
Burned into my mind, like you're right there
But who am I remembering? Is it you,
Or just composites of our best times
A highlight real of my greatest moments
And my greatest mistakes
I sink back beneath the waves of dreams
Into the embrace of sheets, like waves washing over me
And I see the smile in your eyes for the last time
bodies tangled in the half light of curtained mornings
Blue brown light filtering through the depths of the room
Giving your silhouette an angelic glow
I ran my hand over your hip and along your waist
telling you one thing, thinking something very different
All the time, you filled my nostrils, my mind
the lingering of your perfume ever present.
Even now days and nights later, in the dark of night,
I still catch that unmistakable hint of your hair, your skin
It all comes flooding back
And in my half sleep, I still see the glow of your outline
Burned into my mind, like you're right there
But who am I remembering? Is it you,
Or just composites of our best times
A highlight real of my greatest moments
And my greatest mistakes
I sink back beneath the waves of dreams
Into the embrace of sheets, like waves washing over me
And I see the smile in your eyes for the last time
Wednesday, December 8
Object Writing Exercise - Underbelly (10 Mins)
Polished, bright, presentable. A veneer of faux elegance.
An American Dream.
But look closer at the shine, pick at the fraying corners,
And tear away the new suit.
This is what drive desires, wants, lust, greed.
Running against everyone, needing every last seat, parking spot, table.
Bigger, better, more than the Jones', Changs and Kumars.
Beneath the flash, the lustre, is a masked acrid odour of dark.
Green eyed, fat fingered and ruthless
Clawing at each other, climbing over those too balanced to care about the superficial.
There is a dark side to this country, an underbelly that nobody wants to admit.
Fueled by the dream of the free, really obsessed with the want of the flesh, of the wallet, of the dollar.
An American Dream.
But look closer at the shine, pick at the fraying corners,
And tear away the new suit.
This is what drive desires, wants, lust, greed.
Running against everyone, needing every last seat, parking spot, table.
Bigger, better, more than the Jones', Changs and Kumars.
Beneath the flash, the lustre, is a masked acrid odour of dark.
Green eyed, fat fingered and ruthless
Clawing at each other, climbing over those too balanced to care about the superficial.
There is a dark side to this country, an underbelly that nobody wants to admit.
Fueled by the dream of the free, really obsessed with the want of the flesh, of the wallet, of the dollar.
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