The Holiday Season

Tomorrow night I am boarding a plane which will eventually take me to San Jose, Costa Rica. It is there that I will look for a man named Fernando holding a sign that will signify I should go with him. Despite the fact that he doesnt speak any English, Kathy and I will be spending three hours or so in a truck with him on our way to Rancho Mastatal, which is where we will be spending our holidays.

Sparky is already there, and will be for about a month longer then us as well, so he will be awaiting our arrival. After Christmas, I believe we are heading to some nearby beach to hang out and do odd things, most of which I hope involve hammocks.

I have to say I am not looking forward to the actual act of travelling this time around. The nine hours on a plane is going to make me wish the feeling 'uncomfortable' was never invented. Followed by three hours of a bumpy truck drive...woohoo...Merry Fuckin' Christmas to me.

But once I actually get to the ranch it is going to be one hell of a great time. Although I don't know what to expect, my unknown expectations are in the high category. Anyone who has talked to Sparky in the last year, I'm sure you've heard all about it and understand.

I am looking forward to getting away from it all. I'm looking forward to relaxing, and freeing my mind of everything. No cell phone, no computer, no studio, no work - just me, a notebook for jotting thoughts, a headlamp to avoid snakes at night, a couple t-shirts, and a frisbee. I'm sure it will all go by much too fast.

2007 is on the way, and there is much to be done, so this will be my last vacation for a long time.

The Lifeless Life Of Me

In spite of my last post, I have decided to start ANOTHER blog in which I will be documenting my journey through the Great Simpsons Re-watch. And I will be watching Season 1.

Which is bad for me, but good for you readers because you will get to hear me gripe about it's suckiness.

The Great Simpsons Watch of 2007

In honor of the monumentus release of 'the Simpsons' feature film this summer, I have begun the great Simpsons re-watch in which I will watch all the current existing Simpsons episodes in chronological order - minus Season 1.

Those of you nerds out there will simply declare it is blasphemous that I make this claim without watching Season 1. While Season 1 did provide us with the word 'KWYJIBO' (a big, dumb, balding ape with no chin), Santa's Little Helper, and the beginning of the Sideshow Bob saga, it simply isnt worth it to have to witness Marge's failed attempt at a love-affair with Jacques (the worst Simpson's character ever made), or the Lisa heavy episode in which we are introduced to 'Bleeding Gum's' Murphy.

Season 2 is arguably skippable as well. It starts off pretty slow with episodes like 'Bart Gets An F' and 'Simpson and Delilah'. Even the debut of the Treehouse of Horrors was a major disappointment even if it does pay tribute to the late Edgar Allan Poe. However, Season 2 does pick up a lot of steam and brings us a lot of classics like 'Bart Gets Hit By A Car', and 'Principal Charming'. Not too mention we find out Homer has a long lost brother, we witness the near death of Homer, and Bart even spends a brief stint as Mr. Burns' heir. It also contains cameo's from stars such as Ringo Starr, Dustin Hoffman, and Danny Devito. So really Season 2 is a great place to start, especially when you get to watch the NON-syndicated versions available on DVD Today!!!

Of course I will not get to watch all the episodes without running into syndication problems, because once I get past season 8 or 9, I will have to resort to the illegally downloaded episodes I have on my computer that were given to me by a friend (Thanks Nate).

And I know it would appear this will be the end of my life as I know it, but I do plan on pacing myself. I don't intend on watching all 18 seasons in the next month or two. I just intend to always have a disc in the DVD player so when the time comes, I can just watch another episode in the greatest saga ever told. I look forward to re-living every moment that I have been quoting and basing my entire life philosophy on for years.

**In Other Simpsons Related News:**

In tonight's episode, entitled 'Kill Gil, Volumes I and II', the intro was re-animated for (I believe) the first time in Simpson's history. I know the chalkboard and couch gag are 'always' different, but this time the entire thing was redone with a christmas theme, including Bart being on a snowboard instead of a Skateboard. The only time the intro has ever been completely redone was the one time they used real people (made in the UK of course). It was quite the day in Simpson's history as Gil finally got a shot as a central character, Smither's faced a little competition, and Poochie made another cameo in Krusty's Kristmas Ice Show as 'Matrix Poochie'.

I was moved.

Roll Me On To New Madrid

I have been thinking about the New Year approaching, which is odd, since its not something I ever contemplate. But this year is different.

So much has happened in the span of 2006, its weird to be starting a new chapter, and that is exactly what I am doing. I have learned so much about myself, about self-expression and taken leaps and bounds in the right direction, and other leaps and bounds in the wrong direction. I believe I have come out on top so far, and no matter what I certainly got something out of all the good and all the bad.

Literally my life is being filed under the 2006 tab on the right hand side of this blog. For most of you, my life consists of what you read here, or find on my numerous other blogs and whatnot on this world wide web of information. To me this is a sign. At least its a representation of how I feel at this point.

I've gone from having nowhere but a couple open mics to having a couple (while low key) regular gigs to atleast keep my desire to play live in check. I've expanded my library significantly in the one year I have been writing songs, and I've even begun making a record of this library with one demo EP already complete, and a full length album on the way (which I am extremely excited about). And most importantly I have established a solid relationship with a couple great new friends and musicians...most notably Mike (obviously).

So what will 2007 bring? Hopefully a lot. I hate to be repetitive, but you know how I feel about predictions. I have a lot of things I want to do, and a lot of things I should do...but most importantly a lot of things I will do, and ultimately, those will be what makes the year what it is.

Perceptive Receptors

I have nothing to write about anymore.

Its weird because I used to be running to the computer, or scrambling to find a pen so I could jot down more and more ideas...and now I've got nothing, and sometimes I strain my brain to think of new things to say.

I think it has a lot to do with the plateau I have reached in my discovering of new art. I havent really been diving into new albums day after day, instead I have just been absorbing my favorites over and over again. I have learned most everything I can learn from them.

See for me, ideas are usually sparked by something that catches my ear/eye in an existing piece of work, and the thought process that begins in my head afterwards. And for situations like that is always good to surround yourself with the rantings of as many different lunatics as you can, to optimize your own interpretations, and to harvest new ideas for yourself. This is lacking in my life right now.

Of course I have taken steps to change it.

For instance, Meghann and I recently started a blog project called 'Smitheringtonville' (see the link to the right), and that has opened up a whole world of abstract thinking and wordplay I have yet to discover. I can learn a lot from other peoples use of words, and even discover a lot of new ones, because the biggest word I know is 'biggest'. Not too mention it is really fun.

George has also helped me out by getting his hands on over fifty new albums at a flea market (by new I mean, we don't have them yet). You see, George and I have a collaborative music collection that grows in vast amounts sometimes, and with all these great finds he has picked up, I will have a lot of new stuff to forcefeed my brain.

I am in a lull. Its too be expected for sure, but this year has just been so productive for me creatively it feels weird to stop for a bit and think things over.

I will be in the rainforest soon. No that is not a metaphor.

The Top Of Your Head Is Blinding Me

Tomorrow morning I am waking up, loading my guitar into my car, taking the non-scenic drive to Sacramento, CA and heading back into the studio to continue working on my upcoming album of songs to be released at a later date. Then after being there in front of a microphone and dripping man sweat on a hardwood floor for a bit, I am going to re-enter my car and drive to the Sacramento Airport to pick up my best friend Sparky.

It is there that I will find him with pubes on his face and who knows how much baggage (emotional and physical) - I'm guessing close to zero in both categories - and we will once again return to my vehicle for a short drive back to the studio.

Who knows what sort of awe inspiring thing will happen the next few days, but the arrival of Sparky to California, albeit brief, is a milestone in the making. Surely it is the beginning of something great. Much greater then Nintendo Wii, or even Low Sodium Saltines (which until recently I thought were manufactured using Wizardry).

So there you have it.

Wow-Wii!

Is Nintendo Wii the greatest gaming system ever created?

Up to this point in the history of time and video game consoles, I would have to argue, absolutely.

For starters it has motion sensitive controls, which means it makes games more interesting to play for us people who aren't that big into the whole video game scene. Instead we can all get together and go bowling, or box each other, without ever leaving the house. Think of the drunken possibilites. This has definitely opened up the video game demographic and, depending on what kindof games they plan on making, could unite the world of video games with the world of family fun. Not too mention there is a semblance of physical activity during playing.

At the same time, you can purchase a 'Classic Controller' made specifically for the Wii (or a Gamecube controller will work just as well) in order to play many classic games which are available to download right from the main menu of the Wii. Of course it costs a little money (around 10 bucks for N64 games) but the game can then be accessed at any time. The releases are minimal now, but obviously there will be more to come.

Next you have the Wii channels, which supply weather, news, and eventually even internet browsing. None of these channels are operational yet, but its only a matter of time before everything you need is right on your television screen.

Of course there are downsides. For instance, its a new system, so the games are still not that great, and most overuse the motion controller aspect like an excited kid who eats too much candy just because he can. But this will eventually work itself out...I mean remember when Crazy Taxi was one of the only PS2 games? And with the personalized Mii's hopefully making more appearances in Wii games, there is potentially a lot of greatness in the Wii's future.

The only other downside would be the SD cards used to store games, and memory. The SD cards are small, and expensive for not a whole lot of memory.

But overall, if everything goes well, Nintendo Wii will be the greatest video game console ever created, until someone steals all the innovative things they've thought of and creates something even better.