spud
|
::
2010 20 January :: 7.55pm
vampirezombieraptor vs. robotcheney
discuss.
6 -finally spoke up |
Say something!
|
phil-himself
|
::
2010 15 January :: 11.13am
Chuck Yeager, that was a damn good man right there.
1 -finally spoke up |
Say something!
|
|
spud
|
::
2010 14 January :: 5.05pm
i just made a post on farmville that contained the phrase "asexually reproduce" and they censored the phrase thusly: "a***ually reproduce"
what the fuck?
edit:
i realized i forgot to mention that over the christmas holiday, i was offered a full time position drumming with the machines (that band i played with in grand haven on the 18th). as of yet, we have no gigs lined up, and are still working on compiling a set list. if you have any suggestions, please shout them out at the top of your lungs. or just post a comment, if that's easier for you. i think we're trying to stick in the oldies/rock/blues-type area, and we need stuff that's kinda danceable. not necessarily slow, but danceable. and easy, did i mention easy? i mean, i don't want this to be like actual work or something. ; ) just whatever you'd want to hear a band play while you're out at the bar. and the bar is full of "old" people.
Say something!
|
|
phil-himself
|
::
2010 14 January :: 12.07am
shadow government
3 -finally spoke up |
Say something!
|
|
spud
|
::
2010 13 January :: 10.05pm
i have a subwoofer/amplifier combo that i need to sell, so i can get plates and insurance on my truck.
it's a JL Audio 12W3 woofer in a custom enclosure, matched with a 250/1 class D amplifier. they are awesome together, and i am very sad to see them go, but it's cargo i'm not currently using, and making money is hard without legal transpo. so there you have it.
i paid over $300 for this setup when i bought it, and have taken very good care of it. i mean, it gets pretty loud, but i've never abused it. just don't try and win any SPL competitions with it and you should be fine. it'll warm up the bottom end of your stock sound, and actually take some of the strain away from speakers that struggle to reproduce lower frequencies. and maybe even shake your mirrors a smidgen.
if you're interested, just let me know. offer whatever you feel is fair, and i'll see if i can make it work. amplifier comes with all original hardware and packaging, for your convenience.
here be some pictures of the goods:
3 -finally spoke up |
Say something!
|
Upchuck
|
::
2010 2 January :: 9.41pm
:: Mood: irritated
:: Music: "We Live"
Reading
I normally plow through books in my spare time. I had a lot less of it as of the last part of this year. It took me until just a few days ago to finish a book I started this summer at the lake. It was only short of 400 pages, small compared to my normal reading.
Now, however, I am reading "John Adams" by David McCullough. I had already read "Truman" by him, but this book is so different. His writing really captures the time the men lived.
One odd note that struck me as I was reading this afternoon was a statement of purpose that Adams wrote and had published on what a new American government might look like. The form of the government was remarkably similar to what we have now.
The part I found the most interesting is that he took time to outline one very important part, or function, of the government, so that it might function at peak ability.
"Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially for the lower classes of people ... no expense for this purpose should be considered too extravagant."
It is no wonder that our government cannot function if the citizenry is as poorly educated as we find ourselves today. Granted, the total level of education in this country has risen tremendously in the last century, but what has come of it? Is anyone more aware of our, or their own situation? No, unfortunately we have educated ourselves in the ways of the economy. We have neglected the very basic structures that should contribute to an egalitarian society. But instead of being able to make our own decisions about the issues of the day we must rely on politicians that are willing to curry favor for pork projects and campaign donations. Instead of selecting our political representatives out of patriotism and knowledge, it has become a popularity contest. We elect those who are endorsed by celebrities; who themselves have dubious backgrounds.
Why fix the education and create a body of intelligent citizens when the current system is working out so well for those in charge of it.
Say something!
|
|
Upchuck
|
::
2010 1 January :: 10.44pm
Some people feel as if they have no control. Most of the time I feel as if I have no control. The unfortunate part is that we think that life is about control.
I read a lot. I read alot in college. What I found most interesting were those pieces I read in Modern Poltical Theory. Locke talking about the natural law and how ideas like that revolutionized the way society has functioned ever since.
Instead of having an absolute law, created by an absolute ruler, we have realized that the rules of our society are inherent. We all have inherent rights just by the virtue of having been born. Whether you feel like this is a religious conviction, or just a revelation based on observing human behavior, remember this:
Someone at some point in the history of our species felt that you were special enough to fight for the inherent rights you now have.
Whether that person knew that is what they were fighting for you or not is another question. But they did, and you now have the "control" to fight for those inherent rights everyday, no matter how constrained by societal or economic forces you may be.
Say something!
|
|
Upchuck
|
::
2010 1 January :: 11.12am
:: Mood: snotty
:: Music: WayFM
Family and New Year
A new year, a brand new year.
Yesterday I had a conversation with Catherine about making the office have more of an internet "presence." So she has since started a blog and Twitter. I am not a fan of Twitter at all, so I refuse to join.
That got me thinking that even though we have all of these strange new ways to connect to people, most of us feel more isolated now than we would have had to before.
Which leads me to my topic this morning. I am glad we chose to stay here in Michigan so we can have days like today. Really, it's all about family. For awhile there, we were very isolated from our families. We lived on the south side of GR and they all lived north. Now, even though we live in GR, and our parents still live in Cedar, it's not that far. I am really looking forward to this summer. A whole summer with a place at the lake will be great.
So I get to repeat what generations of my family and many other families in Michigan experience. Traveling north for the weekends, getting out of town. It is a time honored tradition now. It existed rarely before the fifties, but it's been going strong for over 60 years now. In the full scope of history, it's not that long. But in the timeline of one short human life it can mean the difference between happiness and friendship and lonliness and despair.
Say something!
|
|
Upchuck
|
::
2010 1 January :: 1.20am
I am wondering why I keep stopping on these stupid TimeLife infomercials while I am flipping through late night TV.
Tonight's is "Romancing the 70's." Given the way I was raised I kind of expect to have a wide range of knowledge of older songs.
I know a lot of them, Jim Croce, Elton John, Rod Stewart, John Denver, and even Tony Orlando and Dawn. But apparently there was a group called "Bread." The standards seemed awfully low back then.
Say something!
|
|
spud
|
::
2009 21 December :: 2.18pm
:: Mood: kinda stressed
My birthday weekend.
both gigs went well this weekend. friday was definitely more fun for me. saturday didn't really pan out at all how i hoped, but i still got a couple drinks from people, which was nice. the mix didn't sound very good for the first set or two on saturday because the bartender kept coming up to me and barking orders at me. seriously, the second time he came up to me and asked me to "turn it down... mostly the drums" and i kindly explained to him that i had no control over the loudness of the drums, and that if he wanted things quieter (as i had already acquiesced to his prior request) he would have to go ask the drummer to play more softly. as it turned out, i just told the drummer i was going to mix around him from then on... since the mix sucked because i brought the mains down... and that he would be the benchmark for whatever volume we wind up at. i also mentioned that we had a request to "turn it down," but that i wasn't his boss, so i wouldn't tell him what to do. he did play a little softer, which was actually nice for him, since it wasn't so much of a workout that way.
ultimately, though, people are dumb. especially people in charge of bars. you cram an acoustic drum set into an alcove with a big glass window and a tile floor and expect it to NOT be loud? that's just plain stupid.
friday night was fun, though. a total jam. it was so nice to play in front of a crowd, with other musicians. there's just something magical about that combination that makes it so much fun. the bass player had a nice pocket, so it was really easy for me to settle into a groove pretty much right away on every song. the hardest part was taking cues for changes, stops, endings, etc. especially from the guitar player. what a dick. i agreed to give him my vocal mic, so he could run his amp through the PA, and during sound check it was fine, but he kept turning his amp up throughout the show, so that by the end of the night it was waaaay too loud. and he was terrible at giving cues. it was like he expected me to somehow magically just know what he was thinking, and do exactly what he wanted me to. utterly ridiculous. diego's cues were much easier to follow. and my performance on the respective songs showed it. every song that roger led wound up being kind of a trainwreck. and did i mention that it really shouldn't have been, since every single one was the exact same 12-bar blues. i wanted to shoot myself. he did one that was in 6/8. that was kind of exciting. but then he still fucked up the cues, so i had no idea what was going on. diego's got the right idea, though. you start together, you end together, and you jam out in the middle. that's how it works. and you communicate effectively where the changes are TO THE ENTIRE GROUP so that everyone is together. otherwise, you wind up with what roger gave us, which is diddly, and sounds bad. also, there were several songs (most notably rock and roll by led zeppelin) that i had to drastically slow down, because roger was old and couldn't play that fast. i had not practiced at those speeds, which made it feel strange. then, he left early and didn't help tear down, because he had to work in the morning. but in the end, diego paid me extra, so he must've thought i had done a good job, and he said that anytime he needs a drummer, i'll be his go-to guy. so that's cool.
i was supposed to work today, but the truck is no longer road legal, as i have no registration OR insurance for it. so i emailed the office, and explained the situation and that i would not be able to work today. hopefully they got the message and understand.
i was kinda pissed at them anyway, because usually they ask me if i'm available before they schedule me. this time, they scheduled me without asking, saying that someone would call to confirm with me on saturday. i never received a phone call - still haven't. i was never asked if i was available (which i am obviously not, for one reason or another). i don't think i'm in the wrong here. i do feel bad in that i should have told them sooner, but i was holding out on the hope that i'd get enough birthday money, and have enough leftover from the gigs to take care of all those issues. unfortunately, that did not wind up being the case.
and my fucking loan payment is due in a week again. i haven't heard back at all from that deferment request i submitted.
all in all, life is bullshit, but i'm still trying to make the most of it.
2 -finally spoke up |
Say something!
|
|
spud
|
::
2009 15 December :: 2.32pm
why, hello there...
so, my birthday's coming up pretty soon here. that's exciting. i keep getting older. funny how that works.
so, if you want to come celebrate my birthday with me, i will be down at flanagan's on saturday, running sound. i'm technically on the clock, so i can't get totally wasted or anything, and i might be preoccupied from time to time, but once the mix is set, there's not a whole lot for me to do, and i can certainly chill with people during set breaks. so, if anyone's around, and that sounds appealing, feel free to stop on by.
we have lots of cookies in our house now. uncle chuck made molasses cookies, and mom gave me a random assortment of other cookies, so we have cookies coming out our ears. and unfortunately, far too many of them are winding up in my mouth. fucking christmas, man. always does this to me. not that i'm really that into watching what i eat, but i try and keep it healthier when i can. and this cookie situation is not helping.
but they are delicious. so i might as well enjoy it.
ummm... went to libby's choir concert last night. that was fun. the choirs weren't bad. i think she got kinda shafted, though, when she was placed in the choir she's currently in. she deserves to be in the next level up. i know she has the voice and the talent for it, but my guess is that her test anxiety kicks in when she has auditions or something. but i could be wrong. another theory i have is that it's because she's only a sophomore, she's a transplant to the school system, and our family doesn't have lots of money. those all probably factor into it as well. which is sad for her, and pisses me off. but that's the way egr works. and i blame mom for trying to make it in a place where they don't really belong. and i thank my stars that i never had to go there.
not that cedar is the end-all be-all or anything. every school has its fair share of shortcomings. but at least i felt comfortable there. felt like i was somebody, and knew people. anywhere else i would have been really intimidated, and would have been one of the faceless masses. not that she has that problem. she has lots of friends no matter where she is. she's just that way.
i need to make some phone calls and write up a cover letter. boooo......
Say something!
|
|
phil-himself
|
::
2009 12 December :: 9.10am
you get me my cheeze wiz boy?
Say something!
|
|
Upchuck
|
::
2009 8 December :: 7.44pm
Updating from my phone. who would have thought that this was possible when woohu was first created i so need to get this changed and back up to speed.
Say something!
|
|
spud
|
::
2009 8 December :: 6.26pm
don't touch that dial!
pretty stoked about the snowstorm. it's always exciting when severe weather comes along. not liking this rain nonsense they're talking about for tomorrow morning though. that's gonna make everything reeeeeeeeeeeally icy tomorrow night. which is when i have to drive to holland, with drumset in tow, for band practice. hopefully i make it out alive. should probably bring some blankets, munchies, etc. along just in case, though. that'd be the smart move, anyway. and i have to dig up my scraper/brush. it's gotta be around here somewhere.
hope everybody had a stellar day. now it's time to party.
2 -finally spoke up |
Say something!
|
|