Just do it

I was racking my noggin trying to think of something to opine prophetically about, but to no avail. I had a really good day today. I'm swamped both at running my own company and supporting my full time client. Add to this the fact that this is probably the most insane time of year with extra demands on your "free" time going to or planning holiday parties, visiting family, etc. Somehow, all of that fell to the wayside and I just got a lot accomplished. It could have been the fact that I just hunkered down and just DID stuff instead of obsessing on how busy I was. Kind of like, "just shut up and do it." Sometimes you need that proverbial slap in the face to get moving.

Positively charged balance

I wanted to elaborate about something Paul alluded to in his 11/19/05 blog, which is the importance of the chemistry amongst the band members. Even though this is my first experience with a serious all original project, I could tell from the get-go that chemistry between the members was a very important facet to the group, both with respect to personal interactions as well as writing. I could also tell when I joined the project the group still needed to find a couple more right people in order to fully complete the group into what it thought it needed to be.

All of our material is written collaboratively, which means that no one person completely writes any given tune. Our writing process is pretty much an open-ended free-for-all brainstorming session. All of us are free to introduce new musical ideas and are also free (and encouraged) to critique or offer suggestions to each other without fear, no matter what instrument we play. For example, Patrick (drummer) is free to offer critique/suggestions of guitar parts to me, because he hears it differently than I do and may envision a different direction, melody, or feel.

All of us go into the writing process with the understanding that any idea we offer to the group may or may not ever see the light of day or end up in the same form that we originally introduced it - everything is open for debate. All of the arrangements and changes are agreed to democratically.

Using this approach takes the ego out of the writing process, since we don't take any criticisms or suggestions personally because they are not an attack on us, only the idea and what is best collectively for the song.

Eliminating the ego factor positively affects the group dynamic in so many aspects. It removes most of any personal tension and creates a truly free and open writing environment. It also makes it a hell of a lot of FUN to be in the studio - writing, jamming, or whatever chaos that ensues -

... which is kind of the whole point in the first place.

Please pass the gizzards

As much as I may complain about the state of the world, there is nothing I am more thankful for is the blind luck of the draw to be born in the United States to two wonderful parents (yes, they are still around and still married).

While there are plenty of wonderful places in the world to visit or even live, there is no other place that I would have wished to have been born in and experience its opportunity and benefit from its bounty.

Secondly, I have been blessed beyond compare with the gift that is my wife - I love you so very much.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Nothing to see here, folks

Riddle me this, Batman: Why is it when a female teacher has a tryst with her underage student(s), she generally doesn't go to jail?

When a male teacher does it - holy crap - you better duck when the excessive indignation and hand wringing gets hurled though the media. A male teacher doesn't pass GO, goes directly to jail, is branded a pedophile, and is a registered sex offender for life and she's, ummm, "misunderstood" and gets a Playboy photo spread, a book deal, and an interview on Oprah because it was for ...... love, yeah that's it.

There is nothing that makes the veins in my head throb more than an obvious double standard brazenly displayed out for all to see and the general populace ignoring the hypocrisy or dismissing it entirely - unless it is just selective outrage or a symbolic harrumph as long as it's not your favorite celebrity, politician, or sports figure doing the dirty deeds.

Calgon, take me away...

This and that

Here it is, almost Thanksgiving (one of those annoying holidays that inconveniently falls between Christmas from one year to the next) and it's been in the 70's and 80's outside! Granted, I live in the San Francisco East Bay Area and I've got used to the lack of change between seasons, but this isn't right.

Since one's baseline perceptions of the world are generally formed during one's childhood, for me the Thanksgiving season is supposed to have a dark crispness in the air and a not-so-subtle hint of snow on the near horizon. Growing up in Iowa (not CA, thank the gods), we sometimes even had a snow or two by the time we were gnawing savagely on the flesh of the seasonal sacrificial beast. Oh well. If things works out the way I've planned, I'll be able to escape this hellish nightmare that is Northern California and move somewhere else in the Union that isn't plagued by traffic congestion, wacko politics, an overtly hostile tax and business climate, and self-centered, emotionally driven people that are devoid of logic and rational thought. I will miss my band mates of course, even though they're twisted and evil. This is of course many years away, but I can at least have something to look forward to.

I suppose I should actually mention something about the band for once... We're beginning to do some demo tracks in the studio and we're getting pretty excited after hearing the rough mixes after our musical therapy sessions. We were recording on a couple of 16-bit ADATs before and now were doing the demo tracks on a 24-bit 24 track hard disk recorder - what a difference!

I just finished watching the 1st (and only) season of Firefly on DVD this weekend. I've always been a fan of Joss Whedon's work (big Buffy and Angel fan as well) and I wasn't disappointed - except that it was the only season. I can't wait to see the movie, Serenity on DVD. Joss has such a unique writing style that is so quirky and fun and not-too-serious. I lost count of how many times I overheard my wife laughing at one of the numerous one-liners while she was cooking dinner or reading while I sat on my fat lazy butt watching the show.

It's a shame that Joss never gets the accolades he deserves, nor have his other writers and cast members for that matter. It's a shame that for a show to be successful, it has be just another mindless clone of any of the standard formulas that happen to be hip at the moment. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but I'd imagine that being out of the mainstream is a good thing. It can keep a show fresh, albeit it will probably have a short life span, ala Firefly. I guess the same could be said for music. It's a good thing that prog rock is still a semi cultish genre. Otherwise, it would just be another boring, unimaginative commodity like hip-hop or the latest disposable pop tart dejour.

Ah, chutney...

Besides music, one of my greatest passions (other than my wife) is wine. I attended a fabulous Bordeaux class last night at The Wine Steward, probably the best wine shop in northern California, but then I'm biased. While I like a bold, tannic, hit you over the head California fruit bomb as much as anyone else, it is nice to explore a delicate and balanced wine that is complex (and stinky). Hmmmm... Like the saying goes, "Life is too short to drink bad wine."

Sorry I don't have anything sassy or cynical to say this morning, but it's still early and I'm at present going through an HR audit of my company, so there is still hope.

Houston, we have a launch

Welcome my virgin blog. Woohoo, three cheers, yeah whatever... I have no clue as to what useful insights will be garnered from this prose or if it will have any redeeming social value. It should be cynically interesting at the very least. What better way to celebrate today's excessive narcissism than to create a stream-of-consciousness journal and think that other people really give a sh-t what I have to say?

Anyway, as with most blogs out there I'll share what bee is currently buzzing about in my proverbial bonnet concerning music, wine, current events, work, computers, my cats, married life, or whatever random thought spews forth (and it must spew or else it isn't worth repeating). We'll see how it goes...