First Day of School, 2008
All the kids in High School (!)
Alixis, Senior
Ian, Sophomore
Jon, Freshman
While I don’t feel old enough to have this happening, it also feels pretty nice as I consider the future— it is coming fast, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be ready in time.
My kids mocked me because my blog posts don’t contain enough pictures…
There you go, Hope that’s enough pictures for you.
Thanks to my wife Melissa (xoxo) for paying me one of the best compliments that anyone:
I was listening to my iPod in the car, random playing one of 18,375 tracks- She turned to me and said- ‘Is this one of yours? it sounds like you.’
<grin> At the time, Mr Ipod was playing ‘Feeling Just Fine’ by Spacemen 3 It’s not common knowledge, but I absolutely love Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and Sonic Boom. Sure, you can call me a druggie, but this stuff touches me- SOBER. Music that reaches deep inside me and makes the dark places a little bit lighter.
In my opinion there’s not a better band to be compared to. It’s kinda embarrasing.
I’ve begun to notice that my near-obsession with having music playing all the time is an attempt to create a soundtrack to the events of my life. I really love music, and recently I’ve stumbled upon a variety of newish things, and have developed an appreciation for some very diverse stuff. Yet the old stuff is still omnipresent. I really enjoy putting the iPod on random and letting the machine drive my soundtracking. Track count: 18,282 There’s gotta be something on there that fits pretty much every situation. If only I could find it in a timely fashion.
In my work, I often do work for “Network Marketing” companies- yes, they are also known as Multi-Level Marketing (MLM), Pyramid, Direct Sales and many other names. The products range from greeting cards to herbs, including shampoo, chocolate, magic electroshock machines, super blueberry juice, laundry soap, internet access, timeshares and more. Their basic technique is to exploit friends and neighbors for profit. Many of the people involved in this are good, hardworking people that believe in the products and are attempting to supplement their income. Others seem overconfident (fake), desperate, psychotic and and more than anything: disillusioned. I personally have no problem with these types of companies that are product-based, but some of them are relying on the cult of personality or junk science to sell the products. Some of these people are absolutely evil and have no problem whatsoever lying, twisting and bending the truth to make a sale. The worst are by far the magic snake oil peddlers that lie about their products ability to cure any disease, reduce stress, clean your colon, soothe dry skin and remove paint from walls. Dirtbags.
Another thing I’ve noticed whilst working around is that the quality of the portable lavatories that different people use for different types of events. Generally the quality of the bogs in California is better than the quality in West Texas. Also, at a high-end banking conference, the standards are a bit higher than those at a construction site in central Alabama. Popular brand names: Port-a-Loo, Honeybucket, John and Co., Port-a-San, Porta Potty and so many more. The aromas in these things are so much better than they used to be, but still absolutely nauseating….
So I’m 5 miles above Texas, listening to Jeff Buckley. I remember what Jimmy Page said about Jeff: “We actually made a point of going to hear him play and seeing and it was absolutely scary. One of the things is a little frightening was that I was convinced that he probably did things in tunings and he didn’t. He was doing things in standard tuning. I thought, oh gee he really is clever isn’t he? He quite clearly had his feet on the ground and he said his imagination was flying, flying way, way out there, beyond, beyond. Jeff Buckley was one of the greatest losses of all. ” from the BBC Documentary “Everybody Here Wants You”
Wow, I’ve been busy lately- Juggling too many projects, trying to keep a social life alive, and the family activities have been a bit chaotic. I’m feeling like I need some balance. A storm is brewing lately, and I hope it can settle down without a major confrontation or issue.
The clouds out here look like unbuttered popcorn. The rivers I can see through the caps are like big veins of chocolate milk. It must have rained somewhere upstream.
We just flew over a little tiny jet, perhaps 500 feet- it was going a different direction. it was crazy to see it so close. (it will happen again 3 times on this flight)
I am seeing a whole bunch of houses in Florida with dirt driveways. right in the middle of a town: a house- no a compound- surrounded by crazy stuff, barn, rusty old pickup truck, a bunch of trees…. all fed by a winding dirt driveway.
Over there I see a bunch of abandoned greenhouses, probably 20 of them, all broken out and rusty.
Still traveling, sitting in Boston now. the last day of a long run of chaos. It isn’t due to stop anytime soon either- tomorrow we travel back home right into another 2 months of overscheduled, sloppy mess.
A few things that have been on my mind:
I need to stop complaining all the time about my travel woes- I chose my bed, I must sleep in it. Escept for the @#*&^@$ TSA in all the @$(*(*&#@ airports I am so lucky to pass through. I’ve never seen a more disorganized group of morons anywhere. Terrible service skills and questionable motives make these people essentially worthless. The TSA in New Jersey was so pathetic, I actually cussed them out for being stupid. I was afraid that I was gonna get tazed.
Is it my imagination, or do lots of people in the east (east coast) have a terrible work ethic? I rarely see people from NY, NJ or MA that I would consider to be ‘great’ workers- most often it seems like people in these areas are slow, sloppy work-evaders.
*CENSORED*
I had a cool flyover adventure the other day, as we were landing in Atlanta, I looked out the window and saw a plane on the next runway taking off. we slowly gained on them until their speed matched ours, and as soon as that happened, we fell out of the sky and touched down and simultaneously they pointed up and flew away. it was like a relay race, only cooler.
Dork Alert: On Sunday, 4/20/2008 I solved the Rubiks Cube using a new method I discovered. What makes this special you ask? This was my first time using no cheatsheets for the new method, and my first sub 5 minute time- 3:45. I’m still practicing, and should be able to get under 2 mins soon.
I think that’s all. hopefully you don’t think less of me for being such a geek. Or for talking about travel despite my assertion to the contrary.
Peace out, yo.
1) I heard the new Killers album Sawdust today on an airplane, it was good (other than that foul cover of Joy Division’s ‘Shadowplay’), and I MUST pick it up soon.
2) *CENSORED*
3) So many of the things that I was taught as a young person were simply incorrect, slanted, biased, half-truths, off-centered, or outright lies. I hope as an adult that I am eventually able to get over the betrayal that I feel from my parents attempts to raise me their way…
4) I’ve been on the road a lot recently, hence the silence. I hope to keep updating this, but may now be able to. I’ve been in LA, Palm Springs, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and soon to be Boston and Anaheim. Also probably back to LA, perhaps Portland, and then there’s the real work: before this summer is over I will probably be in DC, San Jose, Denver, Toronto, Montreal, Seattle, Tokyo, Dublin, Madrid, Munich, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Melbourne, Malaysia, India and a few other places. I like the idea of all that, but don’t know if I really am up for something like that…..
5) I am currently having separation anxiety.
6) I might be getting a raise.
7) My dinner was yummy, and I didn’t gorge myself…
8 ) Ice water is a delicious snack.
9) My favorite band is New Order. Or maybe U2. Or perhaps it is someone else. I’m a little indecisive on this matter. Right now The Pixies are the best, because that’s what I am listening to. Next will probably be George Gershwin. Recently I’ve loved Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, The Helio Sequence and Bob Marley.
10) this isn’t a very short post at all.
11) Any questions?
I declare that I am here to live my life the best I know how, and I owe to nobody the debt of being gentle, delicate or soft in the delivery of my opinions. As a result of my need for independent thinking and self expression, I send my list of peeves, hates and wishes.
New Years Resolutions are for weak people. If you have something that needs attention, fix it- now, don’t wait for some pseudo holiday to start your workout. If you’re fat on New Years Day, you’re fat on the day before Halloween. Try eating a few less Snickers bars and less turkey with anal cavity stuffing and maybe over the December holiday season you could lay off the pie a bit. Then you’ll wake up on New Years Day already feeling pretty good about your shrinking butt.
Loud Talkers are annoying. Usually these people are trying to impress someone with their supposed knowledge of something and usually they fail. Loud phone talkers are doubly evil. Loud phone talkers that shout about how they’ll ‘Hook up with you when I get back to L.A.’ are triply stupid. I’m not impressed.
Bluetooth Headsets are not a fashion accessory. Take it off before you talk to me or it’s gonna be a super short conversation. Your potential phone call is not more important than having a decent conversation. You look like a Borg.
People that allow (or encourage) their children to ride heelies in the grocery store/mall are bad parents. They should have their kids taken away from them until they can discover some common sense and social grace. Millionaire business owners that ride heelies in the store are amusing, but should be spanked for being bad examples.
Wal-Mart should pass out face masks and latex gloves at the door. Requiring the wearing of them at all times in the store will help prevent the transmission of Hepatitis and Tuberculosis. When I am a manager at Wal-Mart, I will institute such a policy.
Food Poisons. There are so many foods that I hate, please keep your slimy tomatoes, onions, peaches, apricots, peas and raw meat away from my food. (ok- I kinda like peas sometimes, but don’t push your luck)
Space Invaders. Back up when you’re talking to me. One word: Halitosis
Family stickers on gigantic vans. Filling up every seat of your 15 passenger family rolling gymnasium is nothing to be proud of, and you should certainly not paste cutesy stickers of your stick figure family, dog, cat, horse, fish and gerbil all over the back window. There are visibility laws you know.
This is not everything, but this comprises the big stuff. You want me to be quiet and calm? Start by solving these issues. We can work on the other problems later.
For 2 nights every year, I am involved in producing an event in Orange County California. In the past the entertainment has been The Beach Boys, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Blues Traveler, KC & the Sunshine Band, Pussycat Dolls, Shaggy, Sugar Ray, Temptations, Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg and Ludacris. This conference has been profiled by CNN, CSPAN, The Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Orange County Register and many more.
This year (2008), I had the most fun I’ve had at work in a very long time. Why? because The Cult was hired to play at this years closing party.
Here is an illustration of the event this year:
First you take a parking lot, hopefully without too many trees…
Once you find said parking lot, build a huge tent in it. Never mind the trees.
Hang some lights, set up some decorations. Project a pattern on the gigantic white ceiling.
I spent nearly 2 weeks working on versions of the pattern seen on the roof of the tent- it incorporates symbols that the decorator liked, mixed with the corporate logo as well as a ‘20′ to symbolize the 20th anniversary. It took a good amount of time to design the lighting to project the pattern correctly- particularly because of the trees being right down the middle of the space.
A picture of the front - the view that guests saw as they arrived.
Dinner.
For the second night we changed the color scheme, moved a few things and prepared for The Cult to perform.
There they are in front of our scenery (a different company did the stage lighting and audio- we did the scenery and video)
Still rocking hard after 27 years….
They were really really good. I’m glad I didn’t call in sick to work that day.
Started the day at 5 am in Houston Texas: Home of the gigantic enchilada platter and the downtown district that shuts down at 5:15 every afternoon. And they also have a huge (I mean HUGE) underground network of tunnels and shops- they claim to have 17 miles of tunnels underneath downtown- full of banks, restaurants, shops and people - I’m not exaggerating : during the day there are more people walking the tunnels than walking the sidewalks.
Stumbled to the curb, got into a cab and made it to the airport in 15 minutes. Damn- should have slept another half-hour.
I choke down some food- it just makes me feel icky, so I wish I hadn’t. Water is better. As I get my change from the water purchase, they hand me this…
How the hell am I supposed to spend evidence from a bank robbery? Oh well, it’s something cool to put on the shelf at work.
I board the plane and promptly run into my old friend Will Davies. He is traveling home to SLC from another trip out on the road- He currently is the FOH/Road Manager for Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. Will and I go way back, as he and his younger brother Brian were a couple of the original audio techs at Tuacahn, where I worked for several years. Once I stayed at his house while his parents were out of town…. I don’t do as many shows with him as I once did, but still run into him often- usually in places like Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami and LA. We chat for a few, but ultimately I retire to my usual seat on the 737-700- the second to last row, right side against the window.
Upon landing at PHX for a layover, I begin people watching: a group of high maintenance women having some breakfast: Leopard print bags, high heels and hot dogs. I see a guy deboard a plane with a Guitar Hero controller sticking out of his backpack. I overhear a woman planning a funeral for her sister, she is traveling to her hometown to finalize arrangements and to take care of all the family stuff that needs to be done. A group of travelers are playing poker around a table. Lots of people are shouting or staring into their iPhones.
It’s time to go now- Off to LA for a sweet week of tent gigs. Lighting and media design for an investment bankers conference: 300 people in a small tent drinking and watching bands play These guys would never dare go out to a rap or rock concert in real life, so they bring the bands in: the last few years have been Snoop Dogg, The Pussycat Dolls, Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, etc. This year the bands are Good Charlotte and The Cult. They tried to get Duran Duran, but they weren’t available.
So that’s my day so far- headed off the plane now. Perhaps I’ll post a bit later about how the day turned out.
The day was marvelous!!! I went to visit the San Clemente State Beach…