At this moment...
06.30.07:
Photos from today's recording session...
06.25.07:
Some photos from lunch...
In his essay, “Politics and the English language,” George Orwell wrote: “A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”
Listening to:
Hounds of Love - Kate Bush
06.23.07:
Currently all of my boxers, running shorts and various shirts are being held hostage by this washing machine...
At this shitty laundromat...
06.21.07:
Dreamweaver seems to be acting up, can't quite figure out why.
06.17.07:
From this weekend...
Went for a 9 mile run. At 6:30 AM it was 69 degrees and quite humid. By 8:00 AM when I was done with my run it was already 79 degrees. I'm already longing for winter.
06.14.07:
Thursday night in AH...
06.12.07:
I miss record stores. I miss the comfort they used to provide me. I know, that sounds crazy, but there was something about going to the record store and wandering through rows and rows of music hoping to score a great new album. I miss Oranges Records and Tapes in Rolling Meadows. It’s probably been closed for close to 15 years, maybe more. I can still picture the wooden bins filled with LPs, later filled with CDs. The first cassette I ever bought there was Van Halen’s 5150. I used to love that album. Is it lame to love a Van Halen album without David Lee Roth on vocals? I remember when I was into Motley Crue, and I sent my older brother to Oranges to buy Theater of Pain for me. It was a cold day, but he still rode his bike there to buy it for me. Sure, my metal days are far behind me, but the nostalgia lives on.
When Oranges closed Sound Warehouse opened. Sound Warehouse is where I discovered The Mekons, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, and a whole host of other Brit pop bands that I still listen to today. I remember waiting in line one day to get tickets to a Robyn Hitchcock show. That very same day tickets to a Van Morrison show went on sale. With the exception of me and a couple of my friends, everybody else wanted Van Morrison tickets. But there was one guy in front of us, and I remember talking to him about Robyn Hitchcock. His name was Bruce and the only reason I remember his name is because Robyn Hitchcock mentions a Bruce in one of his songs.
More on the death of the record store some other day…
I can’t stand cell phone ring tones. Actually, I can’t stand the sound of any ringing phone. Phones are interruptions. Interruptions are rarely pleasant, unless...
I type and worlds appear before my eyes. I suppose that the point of communication is for worlds to appear. The only difference between words and worlds is one letter.
I was kind of hoping that it would rain today, but it doesn’t appear that it’s going to ever rain again.
I keep thinking about stories. And images. And sounds. I’m back to communication. Worlds appear.
I woke up to the moon above me and a robin with a worm in its beak perched on my communist alarm clock.
06.11.07:
Happy birthday mom!
I made an attempt to take some photos during lunch, but there was too much wind. Oh well...
Song(s):
In Your Back - Keren Ann
The Kiss - Judee Sill
06.10.07:
Wow, I just met Guitar Guy!
I know summer has offically arrived when I hear guitar guy playing his guitar at the train station across the street from my apartment. Earlier, I was finishing up the dishes when I spotted a motorcycle cop driving on the sidewalk by the train station. I watched as the cop issued warnings to two homeless guys who were passed out on one of the train station benches. Thinking this a potential news event in down town AH, I grabbed my camera and ran downstairs to document the happenings. It was then that guitar guy saw me snapping photos. At first I didn't know it was him since I'd never seen him up close. I walked over to where he was standing and we started having a conversation.
He told me a bit about the two homeless guys that were passed out. One of them is a veteran, and he's been homeless for three years. Actually, it was really quite sad. Then Guitar Guy told me that he had been homeless at one point in time for about three months, but that he now had a job. Overall it was a friendly conversation. We talked about music and a few other things. Nice guy.
Yesterday we (Zeostars) played our very first wedding (still thinking about the "wedding log" floating down the river). Kind of strange to play at a wedding. However, I had a lot of fun. Here are some photos from the day...
This morning I went out for an 8 mile run. It was a bit warm, and now I'm sleepy, but overall it was a great run. I'm amazed at how consistent my pace has been over the past few days of actually paying attention.
Listening to:
Walls - Apparat
06.05.07:
On Monday my new GPS watch arrived. The old one stopped working about a month ago. One day I went to change the batteries and saw that the metal contacts had corroded (nearly 3000 miles of sweat turned them green) and fallen off. The old GPS watch lasted three years, so I guess I was due to get a new one. The new one, a Garmin Forerunner 205, is hands down one of the coolest things in the world. The 205 not only tracks distance and speed, but also maps your route, estimates calories burned, and syncs to my Powerbook so that I can download all my workouts. Super cool and highly recommended for any runners who want to get the most out of their runs. I've already gone on two runs with it. Yesterday after work I did a quick three miles, and then this morning I went for a five mile run. Felt great.
Tonight I start my photography class. Hopefully I'll learn a thing or two. I'd really like to learn proper exposure and setting white balance. Although, I've been shooting RAW, so I don't have to worry about white balance as much.
Listening to:
If You Want Blood - Matt Pond PA
06.03.07:
My Grandma being funny...
Eventually she let me take her picture... She's 92, lives in the house that my grandfather built, and still drives a car (a Volvo).
From the garden behind my grandma's house...
From my grandma's house in the basement...
06.02.07:
I made a foolish attempt to go out and do some macro photography. I say foolish because it's windy, and I didn't think to bring a tripod, and everything was blowing around. Nothing really turned out, not even this daisy...
Last week new brakes on my car, this week a 100,00 mile tune-up. Now my car purrs.
Okay, so not a good photo, but I'm fascinated with this character... I've tried to explain his look a million times, but I'm never able to capture in words what he is all about.
He hangs out at the train station across the street from my apartment, and he always has on the same outfit (I think he wears two cowboy hats, one atop the other). Someday I'll get a better photo of him.
A nice, unexpected dinner, with my parents...
Listening to:
Everybody - The Sea and Cake (At first I was slightly under whelmed by their latest effort. However, the more I listened to it, the more it made sense. It's the type of album that reveals itself slowly, and requires the listener to really open their ears up and pay attention. In a way Everybody distills all the past TSAC albums into one album. Highly recommended!)
06.01.07:
One Wednesday I signed up for a photography class at the local community college. It's probably pretty basic, but I figured it would be something new.
New camera lens... Now I need to learn how to use it.
My cell phone stopped working, so I was forced to get a new one. Luckily I was due for an upgrade. I went with the Motorola Razor. Hopefully it's not a piece of crap.