spud
|
::
2010 13 July :: 2.13pm
:: Mood: lonely
:: Music: BnL - Bank Job
life barrels on.
being single is not all it's cracked up to be. i know i'm pathetic, but it's just really nagging at me a lot lately. but at the same time, it's not good to be desperate. that would be a good way to rush into something ill-advised. i figure if i'm gonna be in a relationship, i would want it to be one worth having, and worth taking the time to do it properly. not that there's a rulebook on how those things work or anything, but i do know that it at least takes time and energy to cultivate something lasting. i feel like i'd probably prefer something with more longevity over something of a fling. even though the fling is less daunting, and could be lots of fun in the short haul.
but enough about that. i can't help but notice that a lot of my good friends keep moving away. which is fine, i'm very happy for them. but it makes me want to get the fuck outta here in a quick hurry. not that i'ma run off to japan or anything, but i really want to do something, ANYTHING to break up the monotony.
get a fucking job, you hippie.
which reminds me, i do have work tomorrow and thursday. hopefully that'll mean some gas in the truck, and maybe some grocery money for chuckles.
the drum lessons have been fun thus far, but i'm not sure how well i'm doing as an instructor, and they're definitely not breaking the bank. eh, whatevs. at least it's something.
oh, other exciting update! i was at becca's saturday night (well, sunday morning) and thrashed my foot pretty good on an angle bracket. considering how deep it is, it doesn't hurt too badly, and i've been fairly diligent about keeping it cleaned out and putting antibiotic ointment on it, but it's still not healing up any too quickly. it's a pain in the ass because it's right on my heel. i have this irrepressible tendency to walk on it. maybe i'll take pictures and post them up for funzies. evidence that i'm a dumbass and a klutz.
1 Opened Door |
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 21 June :: 5.19pm
the entire time i have a woman, i'm bitching about her. (okay not really, but sometimes)
the minute i'm alone, i want one.
oh, the paradox that is me.
i suppose i'd have to stop hanging out with old people all the time to actually meet someone my age. but where's the fun in that?
4 Opened Doors |
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 18 May :: 11.24am
wtf, mate
been feeling really weird and detached the past couple of days. not sure why. been more sober than usual (though still not completely) so maybe that's part of it. also, my dear seester is gonna be sixteen in a couple days. makes me feel fucking old.
also also, still no job. sucks ducks, man. need a job. handyman scheduled me for like 2 hours on friday this week. awesome. there's 10 dollars that i'll see in two weeks. fucking bullshit.
just not feeling very enthused about much of anything in general. would like to be excited about something - anything - soon, very soon.
4 Opened Doors |
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 27 April :: 5.19pm
i need to go do something. that way, i'll have something to write about when i come back.
because, even if i embellish it, my day to day life is pretty bland most of the time.
4 Opened Doors |
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 24 April :: 1.31pm
:: Mood: mellow
o rly?
i did a thing! new journal stylez for the elite blogging community that is woohu. look at all the pretty colors.
4 Opened Doors |
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 7 April :: 1.55am
:: Mood: drunk
:: Music: 311 - Evolver
:: The Insanity
This weekend was interesting. Between an all-night film shoot sound recording and easter with the fam, many an adventure were had.
and suddenly handyman has an interest in my unique skills again. which invariably means carting tools around for bruce all day tomorrow on virtually no sleep, and then cleaning out some gutters in the rain on thursday. hot damn.
had some nice talks with chuck tonight about theoretical physics as relating to music instruction, and hippie philosophy pertaining to government. Verdict: M-Theory and Anarchy, respectively.
and i made friends this weekend. i had a good time, and i think the shoot went well. it was an interesting set to be on, for any one of multiple reasons. regardless of why, i'm glad that i took the opportunity to contribute and take part in the experience. definitely worthwhile, despite the hardships it presented.
i need to quit smoking and start lifting again. and riding my bike more. optimism regarding anything resembling a "beach bod" is scarce, but at the very least, i know i would feel better about life in general if i made the extra effort to take care of myself at least a little. which, unfortunately, includes sleeping. this weekend was fun, but i'd like to feel a little more human again, and be on something closer to a normal sleep schedule. well, here goes nothing... 'night y'all.
3 Opened Doors |
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 1 April :: 2.05pm
:: Mood: foolish
:: Music: beyonce - single ladies
unixkcd
for self reference: Read more..
guest@xkcd:/$ cat welcome.txt
Welcome to the unixkcd console.
To navigate the comics, enter "next", "prev", "first", "last", "display", or "random".
Use "ls" and "cat" to navigate the filesystem.
guest@xkcd:/$ ls
* welcome.txt
* license.txt
* blag/
* blog/
* fora/
* forums/
* store/
* about/
guest@xkcd:/$ cat
You're a kitty!
2 Opened Doors |
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 30 March :: 2.47am
once upon a time, i used to be fit.
it's hard to really nail down and pinpoint an exact moment, but i'm fully confident it happened. at least once. i often wonder if it will ever happen again.
i think it was sometime in college when i didn't just eat whenever i got hungry. i ate when people gave me food.
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 23 March :: 10.17pm
just in case you were looking to buy some beginner drums:
i figure a 5 piece set (snare, bass, and three toms) is standard rock drums. 4 piece (only 2 toms) is more of a jazz thing. but if you get the 5, you can always just pull one off, and bam, 4 piece. so i'd recommend 5.
now that an arrangement is settled upon, there are only a few key factors that make one set different from (better than) another:
-shells (wood type, number of plies, construction methods)
-hardware (lugs, rims, pedals, stands, and mounting brackets)
-heads
-cymbals
as far as shells go, most starter kits are a mixture of birch and whatever else they have lying around in the factory. for your purposes, i doubt it will matter. but if you want something that will be durable, stay reasonably tuned, and sound good enough for a practice set, i would go with no less than 6-ply, regardless of what kind of wood it is. preferably 8 or more, especially on the bass and snare drums (unless it's a steel snare, which is fine too. wood sounds nicer, but steel is usually a little cheaper).
hardware. now, this one here is a bitch. because it's hard to tell online how sturdy or rattly or user-friendly the hardware is. as a general rule, you get what you pay for. which means, in the $400-500 range, it's probably gonna be pretty chinsy. there's pretty much no way around that, other than spending more money, which is obviously not an option. you're just gonna have to deal. my personal opinion: pearl, gretsch and ludwig are going to have the best hardware. i would stick to those. i don't have enough experience with ddrums to know for sure, but i'll give them the benefit of the doubt. they're probably right there with tama or pacific/PDP, which is also fine. but i would stick to the main brands. they are tried and true, and have enough experience to make decent drums on the cheap.
factory heads are always crap. i say let the boy beat the hell out of 'em until they are dead. at which point i can help you pick out some better quality replacements.
the story is similar on cymbals. if it's an entry-level set that includes cymbals in the package, it'll likely be near to banging on trash can lids. again, just beat 'em up, and when it comes time for new ones, i can help you shop around. the only problem is that some of these sets do not come with cymbals. i would almost prefer this, just so you could pick out something a little better from a company that does cymbals specifically (it's more art than science), but this will add on to the overall expense, as it is above and beyond the cost of the set itself.
here's what i found:
Ludwig Accent - http://www.zzounds.com/item--LUDLC125
this guy is pretty solid. the measurements are average: 22" bass, 14" snare, 12" 13" and 16" toms. sometimes they'll have a 14" instead of 13", but that's less common. i like that the stands are double-braced. the other hardware is decent. it doesn't tell you how thick the shells are, but i'm guessing 6 ply all around. all in all it's $400 for absolutely everything you need other than sticks and cymbals. and on the side they have a feature that says for $560 you can get some beginner zildjian cymbals to go along with it. yeah, it's $160 for a pair of hats and a crash/ride, but that's really not too bad, considering. paiste also makes some good cymbals at reasonable prices, but they won't be any better or cheaper than this package deal.
DDrums D2 - http://www.zzounds.com/item--DEPD2
this one will probably be the most attractive to you, as it is a self-contained setup, including cymbals, for $400. i don't have any personal experience with this brand, and can pretty much guarantee the cymbals are garbage, but hey. it's drums, it's cheap. i think it would serve your purposes plenty well enough, although i would consider it a step down from the ludwig. cymbals and heads can always be upgraded later, and this at least is a decent foundation to start from. Note: 9 ply mahogany is an interesting choice. definitely durable, maybe not as resonant. also, this has a 10-12-16 tom arrangement, instead of the 12-13-16 mentioned earlier. nothing wrong with that, just different. the more i look at this set, the more i like it.
Ludwig Pinnacle - http://www.zzounds.com/item--LUDP5K
this is another ludwig set. which means the hardware is exactly the same as the $400 set. why does it cost $450, then? because the shells are slightly beefier, and made out of a different kind of wood. and because this one includes some trashy cymbals. but, once again, it's a good foundation, and you've got the whole shabang, ready to rock for under five benjamins.
my feelings won't be hurt if you choose something else, but those were the strongest contenders i could find. and hopefully you feel comfortable enough now to know what sort of things you need to be looking for in order to find the right match for you.
by the same token, sticks are a very intimate part of the experience, and there's no right or wrong choice. you just have to go into a music store, get your hands dirty, and figure out what feels good to you. lately i've been coming back to the vic firth SD1s, which i hadn't used since i bought my first pair back in middle school. but they're a nice middle of the road stick, with a short taper and a ball tip. and it's what most classically trained drummers would have their students start out on. i like wood tips, as i feel they're less prone to breakage, but nylon tips sound much better on the cymbals. i just have this problem with nylon tips shattering and flying off, rendering an otherwise healthy stick useless, unless you have tomato plants or something to use them in. could just be me though.
Choose my Destiny
|
spud
|
::
2010 23 March :: 5.14am
iTunes library
over 5,000 songs; 25 gigs and counting.
this thing is getting out of control.
it's almost easier at this point to have something specific in mind to search for, as opposed to browsing it alphabetically. it's just too overwhelming.
but eventually it will be complete and fully up to date. at which point, i will be a happy boy.
: :
and then the drive will crash.
Choose my Destiny
|
|