So it looks like I'll be heading back to Santa Cruz. I've had some dates come in for this year and it looks like I'm flying to Lanzarote on the 12th July, getting on the Oriana (P&O cruises) on the 13th. From there, visiting Teneriffe on the 14th... Santa Cruz, Teneriffe.
Giving my blog tittle a new relevance.
Keep reading to see if it all comes true.
Take care
D
Friday, 16 February 2007
Wednesday, 14 February 2007
Be my Valentine
Since I last posted I've been busy. Curtains still up, I'm pretty sure they'll stay put now. I've turned my attention to other things. The bands I'm in are getting slightly more busy. Rehearsing a lot with one of 'em, generally for gigs. The regular gigging band - not so busy. Been doing photos for band too (the rehearsing one). Tomorrow is the day of reckoning, gig in the evening and photos during the day.
Doing the mannequin thing, as mentioned before. Hoping for some good results. We'll see.
I went to Dublin last week, for a friend's 30th birthday party. Had a great time, met some great people. Dublin is well worth a visit, and if you're near an airport, it can be quite inexpensive to get there (of course you need to put up with unreserved seating and enought leg-room for an umpah lumpah).
Today is St Valentine's Day. What does that actually mean? Is it just expensive meals out, overpriced cards, red envelopes, chocolates, flowers and a chance for shops/restaurants to make more money from over comercialism.
It seems to me that no-one actually knows what St Valentine was all about. Whilst in Dublin I went to the Guinness Factory, quite an enjoyable tour with lots to read and learn... and taste! I read there that "on March 17th everyone becomes Irish", this sign went on to explain that St Patrick's Day is a good excuse for people all over the world to drink Guinness and eat Irish food. Got me thinking, I wonder what Saint Patrick would have made of that? I've got no idea who he is - I know I'm a goolge away, but it seems somewhat cheating to indulge in something you have no idea of the meaning or political stance.
Saint Patrick may well have been a facist leader for all I know, and by quaffing Guinness and eating Soda bread, cabbage and spuds I'll be tacetly agreeing with his politics. I doubt he was a facist leader, I'm pretty sure they dont make saints out of facist leaders... But I don't KNOW they don't. Is it worth the risk?
So who was St Valentine? Where did the culture of annonymous cards creep in to our society? "Will you be my Valentine?" - this suggests they were a secret lover, maybe, or they thrill of a young lover?
When did we loes the "Saint" from Saint Valentines Day? Was that because of the "Saint Valentines Day Massacre"?
That's what it makes me think of... Dead people in Al Capone era Chicago... Which then makes me think of the film/musical "Bugsey"... Much more pleasent.
I'm opting out of Saint Valentine's Day. I don't need a special day to tell my wife and loved ones I love them. I'll tell them every day, and if I don't hopefully they won't forget from the last time I told them.
It seems there is a "cheap-skate" stigma attached to this kind of attitude, but I don't really care. Its not about money, its about a beleif system. Until I find out what it is I'm celebrating and endorsing - I'm not going to bother with it.
Take care
D
Doing the mannequin thing, as mentioned before. Hoping for some good results. We'll see.
I went to Dublin last week, for a friend's 30th birthday party. Had a great time, met some great people. Dublin is well worth a visit, and if you're near an airport, it can be quite inexpensive to get there (of course you need to put up with unreserved seating and enought leg-room for an umpah lumpah).
Today is St Valentine's Day. What does that actually mean? Is it just expensive meals out, overpriced cards, red envelopes, chocolates, flowers and a chance for shops/restaurants to make more money from over comercialism.
It seems to me that no-one actually knows what St Valentine was all about. Whilst in Dublin I went to the Guinness Factory, quite an enjoyable tour with lots to read and learn... and taste! I read there that "on March 17th everyone becomes Irish", this sign went on to explain that St Patrick's Day is a good excuse for people all over the world to drink Guinness and eat Irish food. Got me thinking, I wonder what Saint Patrick would have made of that? I've got no idea who he is - I know I'm a goolge away, but it seems somewhat cheating to indulge in something you have no idea of the meaning or political stance.
Saint Patrick may well have been a facist leader for all I know, and by quaffing Guinness and eating Soda bread, cabbage and spuds I'll be tacetly agreeing with his politics. I doubt he was a facist leader, I'm pretty sure they dont make saints out of facist leaders... But I don't KNOW they don't. Is it worth the risk?
So who was St Valentine? Where did the culture of annonymous cards creep in to our society? "Will you be my Valentine?" - this suggests they were a secret lover, maybe, or they thrill of a young lover?
When did we loes the "Saint" from Saint Valentines Day? Was that because of the "Saint Valentines Day Massacre"?
That's what it makes me think of... Dead people in Al Capone era Chicago... Which then makes me think of the film/musical "Bugsey"... Much more pleasent.
I'm opting out of Saint Valentine's Day. I don't need a special day to tell my wife and loved ones I love them. I'll tell them every day, and if I don't hopefully they won't forget from the last time I told them.
It seems there is a "cheap-skate" stigma attached to this kind of attitude, but I don't really care. Its not about money, its about a beleif system. Until I find out what it is I'm celebrating and endorsing - I'm not going to bother with it.
Take care
D
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
"Birds and bands don't mix"
I've been busy. The curtains are opening and closing beautifully.
It also seems I've spent quite a lot of time thinking about photographs recently.
I've got the ones back from the developers from my trip and they look stunning...
I just don't have the wall space to put them all up. Oddly enough the 6x4's I've had printed have come with two identical thumbnail copies stuck on the side. Is this normal for photo printers?! It wasn't anything I chose to have done, or asked for, but it is a little bonus. May try something funky with a collage, who knows.
I went to a band meeting last night to discuss photos for the band with a local photographer. She seemed to have some good ideas and I liked her. The thing that came out of the meeting for me was the idea that; with digital cameras getting better, a photographers role is now about generating ideas not just capturing them... Any old idiot with a decent camera set to automatic will get perfectly focused well balanced shots. But the best camera in the world cant decide what to shoot at!!!
So it looks like we're going to be in a very forced pose, carrying the girls in to a factory/industrial setting with the girls made-up to look like shop window mannequins. Its a little odd, but that's kind of the idea... A band needs an arresting image to grab peoples attention and stop them from strolling past like they (and I) tend to with "yet another band standing around trying to look cool" photo.
The mannequin idea is good but doesn't give any clues, or have any standard imagery to help a potential listener with the style of music...
Is this a problem or not? Hmmm...
My mind is not made up on the subject, I'll have to think about it.
After a tiny outburst from one of the girl vocalists (at one of the guitarists) I started thinking about the points the guitarist made...
He thought the imagery should be "an exaggeration of reality, not complete fantasy" justifying this with any posed image we go for that is too "fake" we'll never carry off. (this was in reaction to the suggested idea of the two girl vocalists having a fight)... I think he had a point...
My mind shot off to the bands image assets and how we should/can best exploit them...
A very long time ago, a bass player (who I still play with in other bands) once said to me "birds and bands don't mix". We'd been discussing interpersonal relationships between band members and how they can get in the way of the band progressing. They almost always lead to arguments and band break-ups... hence "birds and bands don't mix!".
I have to admit, every band I've been in with female members has had some kind of "relationship" between the girl/s and fellow male members (if you excuse the use of the word "member").
Does he have a point? I don't know... If it is all above board, than what's the harm? Well the best argument for keeping relationships out of band environments is simply this...
Any "couple" have a power base within the band and leverage over each other on band political points, also if the relationship is going badly then there is a horrid tension that other band members have to endure... this alone should be enough to stop this silliness from happening, but it doesn't.
Anyway back to my photo... The two girls in the band are good looking, sexy girls which should be exploited to its fullest. In previous photos of the band (before I joined, with a very different line up), the girls have complained about looking too sweet, and want a "harder" image.
I believe if you see a girl in a band (singer or otherwise) then you ask yourself a simple question... Which of these guys, assuming its not an all-girl group, is lucky enough to be enjoying a relationship with her?!
I kind of thought well lets take that assumption to the extreme and set up a pose suggesting that ALL the band members are "enjoying" a "relationship" with BOTH girls. I believe this is a much harder image and will quite suit the music...
All I have to do now is convince the other band members (and their partners).
I have quite a bit more to add to this but I have to dash...
Take care.
D
It also seems I've spent quite a lot of time thinking about photographs recently.
I've got the ones back from the developers from my trip and they look stunning...
I just don't have the wall space to put them all up. Oddly enough the 6x4's I've had printed have come with two identical thumbnail copies stuck on the side. Is this normal for photo printers?! It wasn't anything I chose to have done, or asked for, but it is a little bonus. May try something funky with a collage, who knows.
I went to a band meeting last night to discuss photos for the band with a local photographer. She seemed to have some good ideas and I liked her. The thing that came out of the meeting for me was the idea that; with digital cameras getting better, a photographers role is now about generating ideas not just capturing them... Any old idiot with a decent camera set to automatic will get perfectly focused well balanced shots. But the best camera in the world cant decide what to shoot at!!!
So it looks like we're going to be in a very forced pose, carrying the girls in to a factory/industrial setting with the girls made-up to look like shop window mannequins. Its a little odd, but that's kind of the idea... A band needs an arresting image to grab peoples attention and stop them from strolling past like they (and I) tend to with "yet another band standing around trying to look cool" photo.
The mannequin idea is good but doesn't give any clues, or have any standard imagery to help a potential listener with the style of music...
Is this a problem or not? Hmmm...
My mind is not made up on the subject, I'll have to think about it.
After a tiny outburst from one of the girl vocalists (at one of the guitarists) I started thinking about the points the guitarist made...
He thought the imagery should be "an exaggeration of reality, not complete fantasy" justifying this with any posed image we go for that is too "fake" we'll never carry off. (this was in reaction to the suggested idea of the two girl vocalists having a fight)... I think he had a point...
My mind shot off to the bands image assets and how we should/can best exploit them...
A very long time ago, a bass player (who I still play with in other bands) once said to me "birds and bands don't mix". We'd been discussing interpersonal relationships between band members and how they can get in the way of the band progressing. They almost always lead to arguments and band break-ups... hence "birds and bands don't mix!".
I have to admit, every band I've been in with female members has had some kind of "relationship" between the girl/s and fellow male members (if you excuse the use of the word "member").
Does he have a point? I don't know... If it is all above board, than what's the harm? Well the best argument for keeping relationships out of band environments is simply this...
Any "couple" have a power base within the band and leverage over each other on band political points, also if the relationship is going badly then there is a horrid tension that other band members have to endure... this alone should be enough to stop this silliness from happening, but it doesn't.
Anyway back to my photo... The two girls in the band are good looking, sexy girls which should be exploited to its fullest. In previous photos of the band (before I joined, with a very different line up), the girls have complained about looking too sweet, and want a "harder" image.
I believe if you see a girl in a band (singer or otherwise) then you ask yourself a simple question... Which of these guys, assuming its not an all-girl group, is lucky enough to be enjoying a relationship with her?!
I kind of thought well lets take that assumption to the extreme and set up a pose suggesting that ALL the band members are "enjoying" a "relationship" with BOTH girls. I believe this is a much harder image and will quite suit the music...
All I have to do now is convince the other band members (and their partners).
I have quite a bit more to add to this but I have to dash...
Take care.
D
Tuesday, 9 January 2007
Blisters
So I lost my temper at the curtain rails (as expected) and have resigned myself to leaving the new pair up with exactly half the required nomber of screws holding it up. To cut a long frustrating story short, I bent two drill bits (secretly impressed with my superhuman strength), and made a big mess of the wall. My estimation of the time the job will take turned out to be way, way too short. "A couple of hours" turned in to the whole day.
And why did the drill bit bend at almost the exact same time the local DIY store closes? Half an hour sooner, I'd have bought a new one. Half an hour later, I'd have not bothered to leave the house, reckoning the shop would probably already be shut...
No, I trecked out to the shop with just enough optomism to end up being even more disappointed.
Played basketball last night, new boots, new blisters... Ouch!!! Very sore, I have patches of raw flesh the size of five pence pieces on the outsides of my little toes. We have a game on friday, away to the only team we've lost to this season.
I had no idea we'd won that many, at this rate, promotion to division one looks a serious option.
Mixed feelings about that - great, Div 1 (we're obviously getting better) or not great, Div 1 (expect to be pasted every week, with no real coach, tactics or plays, it'll be a season of looking forward to Div 2 again)... Hmmm, we'll see.
Very much looking forward to next friday, 19th January. With any luck I'll be accompanying my brother to his competition win trip to Abbey Road studios, London. He won the chance to record (or have recorded, depending on how you look at it) the piece of music he submitted by the Philharmonic Orchestra. Should be a day to remeber.
Had other good news today. Sky digital, have apologised to me for the bogus £260 bill debt they had instructed a collection agency to chase. One - nil to me. However, there really does seem something very wrong with the system that allows this to happen...
I recieve a "pay this now" kind of note from a very official sounding company via post. It is then up to me to prove I don't owe it, or just pay up. I spend a lot of money on the phone being bounced from one company to the next to finally be told "You'll have to write your case up, send it to us for us to investigate." I do this and spend even more money on guarenteed delivery (don't want this letter going missing, it could cost me £260).
I'm now told... "Soz", or words to that effect, and all is back to how it was the day before I recieved the letter...
Apart from, of couse, the hours of my life, the stress and hassel of dealing with it all, and the sum of money I've spent ironing out someone elses mistake!!!
All from one letter - utter maddness. I'd like to think that I could just ignore such letters, confident in justice prevailing and the correct bills would be issued and the bogus ones would fall by the wayside. However I'm fairly sure if I did ignore them, I'd end up with several more red looking ones and then some kind of court summoning or CCJ.
In other good news, recieved my posters through the post (where else would you get a poster) today. They look great. The one for Kerry's parents is huge. Looks great, but is massive. I'm now eyeing up walls in my house for the others.
Should go, got lots of prep to do for work tomorrow.
Take care.
D
And why did the drill bit bend at almost the exact same time the local DIY store closes? Half an hour sooner, I'd have bought a new one. Half an hour later, I'd have not bothered to leave the house, reckoning the shop would probably already be shut...
No, I trecked out to the shop with just enough optomism to end up being even more disappointed.
Played basketball last night, new boots, new blisters... Ouch!!! Very sore, I have patches of raw flesh the size of five pence pieces on the outsides of my little toes. We have a game on friday, away to the only team we've lost to this season.
I had no idea we'd won that many, at this rate, promotion to division one looks a serious option.
Mixed feelings about that - great, Div 1 (we're obviously getting better) or not great, Div 1 (expect to be pasted every week, with no real coach, tactics or plays, it'll be a season of looking forward to Div 2 again)... Hmmm, we'll see.
Very much looking forward to next friday, 19th January. With any luck I'll be accompanying my brother to his competition win trip to Abbey Road studios, London. He won the chance to record (or have recorded, depending on how you look at it) the piece of music he submitted by the Philharmonic Orchestra. Should be a day to remeber.
Had other good news today. Sky digital, have apologised to me for the bogus £260 bill debt they had instructed a collection agency to chase. One - nil to me. However, there really does seem something very wrong with the system that allows this to happen...
I recieve a "pay this now" kind of note from a very official sounding company via post. It is then up to me to prove I don't owe it, or just pay up. I spend a lot of money on the phone being bounced from one company to the next to finally be told "You'll have to write your case up, send it to us for us to investigate." I do this and spend even more money on guarenteed delivery (don't want this letter going missing, it could cost me £260).
I'm now told... "Soz", or words to that effect, and all is back to how it was the day before I recieved the letter...
Apart from, of couse, the hours of my life, the stress and hassel of dealing with it all, and the sum of money I've spent ironing out someone elses mistake!!!
All from one letter - utter maddness. I'd like to think that I could just ignore such letters, confident in justice prevailing and the correct bills would be issued and the bogus ones would fall by the wayside. However I'm fairly sure if I did ignore them, I'd end up with several more red looking ones and then some kind of court summoning or CCJ.
In other good news, recieved my posters through the post (where else would you get a poster) today. They look great. The one for Kerry's parents is huge. Looks great, but is massive. I'm now eyeing up walls in my house for the others.
Should go, got lots of prep to do for work tomorrow.
Take care.
D
Sunday, 7 January 2007
Happy new year
Hello and welcome to my first ever blog. Today I've woken up with a random Beegee's track in my head, a little dissatisfied with the world. My house is currently very cluttered with too much stuff, and on today's agenda is: take down the lounge curtain rail, put up new curtain pole, and fit new curtains (bought yesterday). Since moving in to this house 6ish years ago we've never had curtains that actually fit the lounge windows. The curtain rail has a small split in it making the curtains quite difficult to move past the split, not enough to make you lose your temper but enough for you to notice, sigh, and then 'jiggle' the curtains past the split point.
So hopefully you can see that today is a significant day in the household.
One less thing to worry about.
You may have noticed my title is "from Santa Cruz to Santa Cruz" this was a title I came up with last July. The 16th to be exact. I was on my way to Santa Cruz in Teneriffe to join a cruise ship for a few days, sail back to Southampton, and so it all again the following week (slightly different, that time; Corfu not Teneriffe). At the time I also knew I had booked a holiday/trip to California and knew I'd be spending most of my time (18days) in Santa Cruz Ca.
Whilst in the taxi from the airport (teneriffe) I decided a diary of the 5 and half months between the trips would be a productive thing to do...
I've only just got round to it.
Snappy title though, didn't want it to go to waste.
The big news of the last couple of days is my brother winning a days recording at Abbey Road studios with the Philhamonia Orchestra on Jan 19th. He can take one guest - I think it'll be me, but it'd be rude and presumptuous to expect it. I'll be extremely disappointed if it isn't me.
I have just checked my e-bay watched list to notice I didn't bid on, but now wish I had, the Harrods grand piano... It went for just three hundred and a bit pounds! Bargain.
The person selling the Chappell piano has got back to me and said all the right things with regard to the questions I asked. It may well be an option. Hmmm.
I'm off now to start pulling down curtain rails, I'm 100% sure this will not go as smoothly as I hope, I'll get angry, and disappointed (again), and lash out at the people around me (Kerry).
This is stopping me from wanting to start.
Stop stopping and starting (as Vic and Bob may have once said in falsetto voices, it seemed funny at the time, but now the comedy of the phrase escapes me).
Take care.
D
So hopefully you can see that today is a significant day in the household.
One less thing to worry about.
You may have noticed my title is "from Santa Cruz to Santa Cruz" this was a title I came up with last July. The 16th to be exact. I was on my way to Santa Cruz in Teneriffe to join a cruise ship for a few days, sail back to Southampton, and so it all again the following week (slightly different, that time; Corfu not Teneriffe). At the time I also knew I had booked a holiday/trip to California and knew I'd be spending most of my time (18days) in Santa Cruz Ca.
Whilst in the taxi from the airport (teneriffe) I decided a diary of the 5 and half months between the trips would be a productive thing to do...
I've only just got round to it.
Snappy title though, didn't want it to go to waste.
The big news of the last couple of days is my brother winning a days recording at Abbey Road studios with the Philhamonia Orchestra on Jan 19th. He can take one guest - I think it'll be me, but it'd be rude and presumptuous to expect it. I'll be extremely disappointed if it isn't me.
I have just checked my e-bay watched list to notice I didn't bid on, but now wish I had, the Harrods grand piano... It went for just three hundred and a bit pounds! Bargain.
The person selling the Chappell piano has got back to me and said all the right things with regard to the questions I asked. It may well be an option. Hmmm.
I'm off now to start pulling down curtain rails, I'm 100% sure this will not go as smoothly as I hope, I'll get angry, and disappointed (again), and lash out at the people around me (Kerry).
This is stopping me from wanting to start.
Stop stopping and starting (as Vic and Bob may have once said in falsetto voices, it seemed funny at the time, but now the comedy of the phrase escapes me).
Take care.
D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)