A Very Odd Dream--took a couple of days to get this one up

In the dream, I'm an old woman named Mrs. Hastings.

What's the password?!?

Stopped in at the video store that i frequented in high school this evening to pay off my late fees. There was one ten year old late fee for a pauly shore movie. I didn't know the password so it was a huge hassle. I picked up 'little miss sunshine' which is amusing so far.

Under the Knife?!?

Apparently, this "tumor" is exciting enough that they want to remove it. I got the call during yesterday's rock. I asked if this was a body part that I was going to miss and the doctor said "no." It needs to be done as soon as possible. I just need to do some schedule juggling with work and possibly rock. Completely freaking out about this.

Monkeypuss' operation went well. I pick her up tomorrow morning. The nitwit is up to her old tricks--talking to aliens and shit. It reminds me of why I got a second cat.

The Scan-o-rama

wasn't so bad--they load you into a talking arch that reminds you to breathe. The worst part is getting shot up with the hot iodine, which feels a lot like a niacin overdose. I totally got a CD-ROM with a bunch of cool images. I'm not even an amateur radiologist, but it's pretty far out to see one's organs. They all look sort of the same: there's a kidney; hey,I have a spine; wtf is that; etc.

Atomically Heavy Drinking

I don't know how I feel about voluntarily consuming a non-alcoholic, radioactive beverage. To get good data from this scan-o-rama, I have to drink this stuff as well as get a hot IV.

If I don't have cancer now, I will. I'm actually afraid. I need to call Tito.

CT Scan?

Is it chic to blog about one's maladies? I hope so...

I'm making a second career out of confounding the doctors. My blood work came back cool (no surprises), but this "tumor" is still bothering me (has been for months). Thus, Friday is the mighty CT scan of the naughty parts. I just hope that dude gets a clue--he's acting so perplexed that I actually asked him if he actually went to medical school. He didn't like that very much.

My stepfather says that my pubic hair will all fall out and that I'll never be able to have an erection again.

During the introduction of "The Incredible Hulk," I seem to remember Dr. David Banner (you'll recall that they changed the character's name to David on TV) in a cool radiation machine. I was a superfan of the show for many reasons as a child. What a memory I have, though:



I'm wishing for a muscular green penis out of this deal. Just in case Mahoney is right (he is a doctor, and was in the army, after all), I'd better get some use out of the junk before the week's end.

Heaven and Hell

RONNIE JAMES DIO, TONY IOMMI , GEEZER BUTLER AND VINNY APPICE
With Megadeth and Machine Head April 29
Broomfield Event Center

I am so there. Dio is a hell of a vocalist.

Rock legend gets new hairdo for high-profile murder trial - New Zealand Herald

The title on this one is hilarious. I was really diggin' that Noel Redding 'do (photo).

My opinion: Phil's totally going up the river on this one. One shouldn't get away with shooting a floozy in the face. Dude ruined country music (much like Trent Reznor ruined industrial, etc), so he totally deserves it, even if he's probably the most influential producer of popular music in the 20th century (conceptually, the wall of sound influences me).

Jonesy

I have a real jonez for liver and onions tonight.

Monkeypuss has no fear

I've attempted to raise this kitty to be not okay with "outside". Today, she totally slippeed outside through an open window. Yowling to go out is her new cool thing. I might have to drown her in the bathtub for real (once I don something with long sleeves and leather).

At Last....

I've found a woman who is beautiful and believes that there is beauty in the world. Another beauty-seeker (thus, a good match for me)? I love her. She doesn't like me to take photos of her, so this is a rare one. She's amazing, really.

Happy.
< / g u s h i n g >

Graphite Reinforced Neck?

Apparently, I haven't played a US-made Fender bass in a very long time. They've added graphite rods to the neck, which makes 'em a lot more stable (the classic-construction-flexy neck is evil). I've been looking for a backup for the black 'ho' bass (she's served me well for 4 years) while it undergoes some minor (but time-consuming needed tweaks to the bridge and nut). It turns out that the new necks are really awesome, and play like a piano, despite the musicshop-wretched setups (it's amazing that anyone ever purchases anything from a store--a shop that actually bothered to setup basses properly is a place that I'd shop exclusively). A backup like that might become numero uno if I get what I like, instead of settling (ick--this is like shopping for a new girlfriend or something).

Unfortunately, a black one is the hardest to find locally (like a girlfriend, or something).

Bummer

I totally wanted to do some snake handling and talking in tongues at red rocks yesterday.

Sunsets turn me on

19th Nervous Breakdown; Dreams; Cable Entropy; etc (too long, too drunk)

It looks like I'm not going to be fired, even after my lively "conversation" yesterday. I was pissed.

This morning, I dreamt that I was getting high with Jay Leno. It's amazing how I still have stoner dreams like that. Apparently, we had purchased $80,000 worth of blow that we had to consume in one night. Action-packeed! Maybe I'm hanging out with the OC too much.

We had a very good (productive) practice last night. I'm pleased with how things are going, even if I've secretly (not any more) decided that Denber probably isn't going to get it (put on your surprised face). Andrew Warner will, but I'm not sure about the Denber Heepsters. Fuck 'em. It boils down to me getting to play with some great musicians who aren't flakey. Anything more is really extraneous. The new ones are a lot of fun--the old ones are still decent.

I've decided to revert to the classic 80s ampeg setup while the mesa goes to the shop for work. The big black bass-tard is really close to ideal, but it needs a little extra something for this band. Is within an RCH at this point, and I might wind up going back to the 6x6L6 setup if 6550s or KT88s and an adjustable bias don't help. On second thought, maybe I need to get the tuner out of the signal path. Hmmmmm. I saw a true-bypass tuner that I likeed recently. We'll have to see how I like the ampeg setup (which served me well for years) now. The cable entropy of the preamp/power amp setup makes me nervous. I will require a second loud rig (and another fender--might build up an OC-specific bass instead) for band number two (still at the top of their list), so it's good to work the amplifier gremlins out with the OC.

The ampeg doesn't sound bad, per se, but it's really really really clean.

Monkey-Puss (the feline formerly known as Jesus Christ) learnt to swim in the bathtub this afternoon. I was actually trying to drown her, but she was bobbing around and making chirpy noises instead. She's not even pissed at me. I wish that she would stay out of the bathtub when it was in use.

I've been on the verge of losing it for a week or so. I've totally fallen off the wagon, too. Three months of moderation is some sort of record for me since age ten.

I totally need a summer haircut, again.

Make A Statement Without Playing A Note

Ahh Yes...The Dave Mustardstain Signature Model....

I stumbled onto this shit (click that photo). I think that The OC are the only people that'll get a laugh from this one, even if it's a sweet-looking banjo. Megadeth was always really like pop speed metal to me. Dude can play a solo, even if it's the same one. My favorite record is "Rust In Peace" because Marty Friedman (of Cacophony fame--that's a serious wank-fest) is on it.

I thought that dude called it quits because of his horse habit. I do know that he's recruited someone new for bass duties--that's amazing because I thought that David Ellefson was the only person that could put up with Mustardstain's shit.

How better to connect the classics than with a video? Tornado Alley? Tornado of Souls? Murphy vs. Mustardstain? There are so many good reasons that metal is dead:

That Active Lifestyle Will Put You In An Early Grave, My Friends

here

The best quote from the story is this:

“He was the safest person I ever met in my life; he made sure he did everything right.”

Apparently not. Dude could have been doin' bong hits on the couch instead of thrill-seekin'. I heard about this over the weekend, and one of my (former) senior project managers was on the tv being all monotone about witnessing a death.

I suppose that we all get our rocks off in different ways. Luckily, the rock hasn't killed me yet. Damaged teeth, liver, feelings, and the stds seem to be about as bad as it gets with music. The good news is that the OC are on the verge, man. I hope that people dig it, and it's not all SCFS and only interesting to the musicians that are playing it. I'm having more fun with this band than I've had with any others. Two new friends that are getting it is enough for me to declare that it's a success. I need to get my ampeg rig running so that I can deal with the arms race that is ongoing. I'm thinking that we might have to move the bass amp so that it doesn't hurt the floor tom so much. I'm seriously looking at four string multi-course instruments. I think that it'll make my solo practice regimen more bearable (essentially a new instrument). I'm virtually worthless without Tidwell, though. Last week, I attempted to play some of our material sans drums, and I couldn't. I was not feeling the groove. Maybe this is a decent rhythm section? She's the better half of the section, though.

Meters change to help homeless

Amazing.

A Moment of Idiocy (this post would make better sense if I allowed uppercase in the stylesheet)

When I wake, I'm usually really really in a fog and unable to discern dreams from reality. This leads to really interesting conversations sometimes. This morning, I got up, took an icy shower, turned on the news, and then proceeded to "rest my eyes." The newscast announced that a second police show had been added since the first one had sold out.

I'm so not a fan of the cops. Questions arose to me:

"Which police jurisdiction is putting on a show?"
"Is this 'show' some sort of vulgar display of police power or something?"

I finally realized WTF they had been talking about sometime this afternoon. I'm an idiot.