Wammo and Christina Marrs are not married.
Laughed at on Facebook, groveling before my editor, and truly embarrassed.
Shit.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Hello Spring
It was 70 degrees today, supposed to be warmer tomorrow.
I still have 3 ski days left, if I stick to my schedule, but I've been thinking rafting, and especially Utah, all day today.
And there's a SJ date...4/28. Sharon will say no.
I still have 3 ski days left, if I stick to my schedule, but I've been thinking rafting, and especially Utah, all day today.
And there's a SJ date...4/28. Sharon will say no.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
As we micromanage our media experience
Truck went back to Car Toys (sorry, you guys don't get a link...) because they wiped out my climate control lighting. Also said the CD was dropping out periodically, the guy said, well, we'll just pop a new one in there.
Swell, so I drive off after re-tweaking all the EQ and radio settings ( I may not bother with the clock, since the display is too small for me to read), and the damn thing still drops out.
As far as the sound goes...okay, it seems better (I also tweaked the power amp gains to better align the fade), but very thin when the volume is low. Beginning to think that the 6x9's in the door, a gift from Sharon right after I bought the truck, are really the weak link. May go for 6"/1" separates.
Swell, so I drive off after re-tweaking all the EQ and radio settings ( I may not bother with the clock, since the display is too small for me to read), and the damn thing still drops out.
As far as the sound goes...okay, it seems better (I also tweaked the power amp gains to better align the fade), but very thin when the volume is low. Beginning to think that the 6x9's in the door, a gift from Sharon right after I bought the truck, are really the weak link. May go for 6"/1" separates.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Day off from the slopes
Crummy weather has settled in and I'm taking a day off from the slopes.
The SBP site looks nice now, think I conquered a few hurdles understanding design and widgets last night.
Installed an Alpine CDA-117 in the truck yesterday - satisfaction level is about 78%, I still don't think the rears are getting enough juice. Will call today and see if they can tweak - may bite and have them replace the speaker connects with RCA's. Sound is good and the RF crackle appears to be gone. iPod sounds like...well, iPod.
The SBP site looks nice now, think I conquered a few hurdles understanding design and widgets last night.
Installed an Alpine CDA-117 in the truck yesterday - satisfaction level is about 78%, I still don't think the rears are getting enough juice. Will call today and see if they can tweak - may bite and have them replace the speaker connects with RCA's. Sound is good and the RF crackle appears to be gone. iPod sounds like...well, iPod.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Pandora
In a fit of frustrated fatigue, I switched off Soma and logged in and set up an account on Pandora.
Built one station around Steve Roach (their choices are dubious, to say the least...) and also added their pre-packaged Electronic/Ambient station, which is okay.
It'd sure be nice if Lone could go in and stir the pot a bit on Cryosleep. But...it's been years.
Built one station around Steve Roach (their choices are dubious, to say the least...) and also added their pre-packaged Electronic/Ambient station, which is okay.
It'd sure be nice if Lone could go in and stir the pot a bit on Cryosleep. But...it's been years.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Been getting swamped with mail...
...regarding the fact that we have TWO SEPARATE 'Loveland Day 8' posts.
The outrage...the sadness....the sense of betrayal and confusion....hang with me, my beloved readers. Do not despair, the Statistics Department has been notified and is working round the clock to address, diagnose and stabilize the situation. Hazmat teams are on the scene.
Thank you for your patience.
The outrage...the sadness....the sense of betrayal and confusion....hang with me, my beloved readers. Do not despair, the Statistics Department has been notified and is working round the clock to address, diagnose and stabilize the situation. Hazmat teams are on the scene.
Thank you for your patience.
Redemption?
March is running out of chances, but we have another wet 'n sloppy one bearing down on us as we speak - missed my walk, damn.
They say 8-16"...Sharon is freaking out, especially as we both have to leave early tomorrow to go visit Louisa The Tax Goddess, to assess our contribution to US society for 2009.
They say 8-16"...Sharon is freaking out, especially as we both have to leave early tomorrow to go visit Louisa The Tax Goddess, to assess our contribution to US society for 2009.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Loveland Day 9
The much-anticipated 'big March dump' turned out to be a bit of a dud - we got 7" or so around the house, but Loveland only got 3". Hardpack underneath some loose stuff, but mostly (despite bright sun all day) it was freakin' cold. -1 in the morning, maybe warming to 8-10 degrees above zero by mid afternoon. Third week of March felt like January.
20 runs, the cold slowed me down a bit.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Alex Chilton
Maybe, quite possibly, rock music's most endearingly iconic cult figures, Alex Chilton passed away suddenly yesterday of an apparent heart attack at 59.
He had his biggest hit as member of the Box Tops at 16 with "The Letter", which I remember hearing as a kid of 9 or 10, and went on to form one of rock's most influential and commercially neglected bands, Big Star.
Big Star represents everything that makes aspiring rock writers get all moist around the loins - commercial failure, lush and elegant melodic instincts, the band's enduring influence on the jangle-guitar indie rock of the 80's and 90's. Chilton gave the mainstream world a compellingly enduring single in the sixties, and a relatively obscure but stalwart and respected actual rock band in the seventies. Few rock artists could claim such a gracefully schizoid career. It's a fine thing that Chilton had lived long enough to enjoy the recognition for Big Star, they had a show planned at SXSW tomorrow night, but a tragedy that he he didn't even make it to 60.
I'd say I'm at a point where it seems that dying at 59 seems young.
He had his biggest hit as member of the Box Tops at 16 with "The Letter", which I remember hearing as a kid of 9 or 10, and went on to form one of rock's most influential and commercially neglected bands, Big Star.
Big Star represents everything that makes aspiring rock writers get all moist around the loins - commercial failure, lush and elegant melodic instincts, the band's enduring influence on the jangle-guitar indie rock of the 80's and 90's. Chilton gave the mainstream world a compellingly enduring single in the sixties, and a relatively obscure but stalwart and respected actual rock band in the seventies. Few rock artists could claim such a gracefully schizoid career. It's a fine thing that Chilton had lived long enough to enjoy the recognition for Big Star, they had a show planned at SXSW tomorrow night, but a tragedy that he he didn't even make it to 60.
I'd say I'm at a point where it seems that dying at 59 seems young.
March dump
Finally, a standard issue March dumper lurches into the state, promising something like 8-16" down here, and as much as 16" (predicted) for Loveland.
Spring appraches, and I wish I could enjoy its proximity with an actual permit in hand. Haven't given up yet.
Spring appraches, and I wish I could enjoy its proximity with an actual permit in hand. Haven't given up yet.
It's alive !!!
www.spiritbearparanormal.com
May be kicking myself before long that I initiated yet another online hobby that my rapidly diminishing free time can't sustain, but it's a means to an end, and getting a little blog-design/wordpress experience can't be a bad thing.
At this early date, the site is still disagreeably clunky and woefully bereft of content, but at least I got it loaded and functioning. Off we go.
May be kicking myself before long that I initiated yet another online hobby that my rapidly diminishing free time can't sustain, but it's a means to an end, and getting a little blog-design/wordpress experience can't be a bad thing.
At this early date, the site is still disagreeably clunky and woefully bereft of content, but at least I got it loaded and functioning. Off we go.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Strangely appealing juxtaposition
Just got a pimpmail alert for "Presale: Iron Maiden at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre".
Why does that strike me as funny?
Why does that strike me as funny?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Pavement adds a Colorado date
From a distance, a safe distance, it frequently appeared to me that the whole 90's indie rock scene, which took its cues from a generally receptive and hipper media and a cultural bias already comfortable with characters wearing outside-the-mainstream attire, benefitted enormously from the indie scene of the 80's, which was markedly smaller and which generally had to fight for everything it got. Which is not to denigrate its best people, of course...if anything, the sst's and other tiny labels cranking niche skatepunk or cowpunk or thrash or what have you allowed less obviously extreme indie artists to get some attention with music that less extreme listeners could connect to.
The Cobains and Vedders, of course, stood astride the aesthetic and commercial posture platforms - one might say that the chasm grew too wide for Cobain - and somewhere along the line it became kind of okay to regard indie heroes as genuine heroes, rather than fear tainting them with the kind of blind adulation once reserved only for cashier-type mainstream poster boys.
Stephen Malkmus was one of the best examples of the post-struggle indie rock icons, a sensitive-to-a-fault and awkwardly unsettling songwriter, he and Pavement became antihero heroes in a way that, say, Bob Mould before him and Rivers Cuomo after him never really could be.
Pavement was product, almost perfectly, of its time, gutter poets in a time when gutter poetry hadn't yet lost all its grime, even if it hadn't entirely earned it either.
They just announced a reunion tour stop in Colorado, for September. Little doubt the place will be crawling with white teed IT types, probably with their second wives, scrutinized by press types buzzing off a vague sense of the importance of the event, even if most of them couldn't name three Pavement songs if their jobs depended on it.
Haven't decided if I'm going to pitch BW to cover it, and even if I do, I have to wonder if Malkmus is doing any retail press.
The Cobains and Vedders, of course, stood astride the aesthetic and commercial posture platforms - one might say that the chasm grew too wide for Cobain - and somewhere along the line it became kind of okay to regard indie heroes as genuine heroes, rather than fear tainting them with the kind of blind adulation once reserved only for cashier-type mainstream poster boys.
Stephen Malkmus was one of the best examples of the post-struggle indie rock icons, a sensitive-to-a-fault and awkwardly unsettling songwriter, he and Pavement became antihero heroes in a way that, say, Bob Mould before him and Rivers Cuomo after him never really could be.
Pavement was product, almost perfectly, of its time, gutter poets in a time when gutter poetry hadn't yet lost all its grime, even if it hadn't entirely earned it either.
They just announced a reunion tour stop in Colorado, for September. Little doubt the place will be crawling with white teed IT types, probably with their second wives, scrutinized by press types buzzing off a vague sense of the importance of the event, even if most of them couldn't name three Pavement songs if their jobs depended on it.
Haven't decided if I'm going to pitch BW to cover it, and even if I do, I have to wonder if Malkmus is doing any retail press.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Big snow?
Loveland barely nudged past the 200" mark a week or two ago. Mediocre snow year, although conditions have been generally pretty good.
Picked up 4" last night; we noted the obviously-typo'ed total YTD tally, which seemed to reflect a bit of wishful thinking on their part. (All of our parts...)
Picked up 4" last night; we noted the obviously-typo'ed total YTD tally, which seemed to reflect a bit of wishful thinking on their part. (All of our parts...)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Loveland Day 8
Started out a sunny, packed-powder burner, more than hints of approaching spring. Mountain knocked down all over (groomed lanes down Scrub and Firecut), warm temps and barely a breath of wind.
By 2PM the sun had gone in, moderately heavy cloud cover, snow started hardening and the light went flat.
Still a good day. 25 runs, and the last chair up Lift 6.
Sea Salt
No complaints about the Great Big Sea show last Friday at Boulder Theater. Rousing crowd and a genuinely fun, affable band. Couple of things struck me about them.
There's a very neat balance between the three principals - guitarist/vocalist Alan Doyle is the MC, funny and self-effacing, a natural showman and keenly in tune with his audience and how they respond to the band. Did a funny and recurring bit about making out with Emmylou Harris at Telluride, as well as leading off an 80's cover singalong (who cops Rick Springfield onstage on a dime?). A bit kitsch in spots, but he had the bobbing and singing and nicely lubed-up audience more or less in the palm of his hand.
Sean McCann plays the balladeer, probably the best lead vocalist of the three, reserved but comfortable in his role. Played a ballad or two from his recently released solo album, Lullabyes for Bloodshot Eyes.
Bob Hallett, the quiet fireplug multi-instrumentalist on stage left, is the least effusive of the three, more or less content to lend the accordion or bouzouki or fiddle fills around the band's big-acoustic arrangements and sit out the onstage banter and joshing. He sports a bass/almost baritone vocal that plays a deceptively key role in the band's vocal harmonies, and one senses he's the quiet anchor behind GBS, they guy who keeps them most obviously tethered to their roots.
Couldn't help but think this division of labor, even if an unintended by-product of their lengthy tenure, is a central component to the band's success.
Probably the other thing a GBS neophyte might notice, at least someone using their albums as point of reference (and Hallett, in his interview with me, cautioned that the albums are barely more than a formality in the band's career at this point - the live show is really the point...), is that the division between pop/rock and Celt-splashed Newfie folk - the shanties and jigs and so on - is decidedly more blurred on stage than on CD. Most of their pop songs are heavily weighted toward folk-rock stylings, and most of the trad (or trad-inspired) stuff is played fast and loud.
It underscored a point I think Hallett was trying to make in our interview - that short of the times when they delve really deep into Newfoundland or Irish traditional folk, and they can, most American audiences think most of what they do actually is trad...clearly it isn't, but it's to their credit that they polish their pop stuff with that fisherman's pub veneer so gracefully you barely notice the hybridization at work, and even if you listen closely enough to hear it, you don't feel like throwing a flag for larceny. These guys have grown up well past their influences, and visit them in earnest only sparingly.
Their gig is well traveled (17 years?), not overly polished, and they seem to genuinely enjoy doing it. Can't overstate the importance of watching a band that challenges you to have as much fun as they're having.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Fearing for tiering at Loveland
With a foot of freshies in the last week and promised sunny/outlandishly beautiful weather tomorrow, I am in acute dread state about not getting up there early enough to make the upper lot.
This, of course, is a holdover from Karin, who'd get very surly about being relegated to the Valley, and then mostly because it disrupted our after-ski beer in the Rathskeller, having to catch the last 4:30 shuttle down to the valley. Even downhill, it's a long walk humping skis - I've done it.
Funny how those things linger.
Although, to be fair about it, the Valley lot is a complete PITA. And if it's busy enough to send me down there, the whole place'll be a zoo.
So, some of it lingers from BITD...and some of it is now-reality based.
This, of course, is a holdover from Karin, who'd get very surly about being relegated to the Valley, and then mostly because it disrupted our after-ski beer in the Rathskeller, having to catch the last 4:30 shuttle down to the valley. Even downhill, it's a long walk humping skis - I've done it.
Funny how those things linger.
Although, to be fair about it, the Valley lot is a complete PITA. And if it's busy enough to send me down there, the whole place'll be a zoo.
So, some of it lingers from BITD...and some of it is now-reality based.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
GBS
...made the BW cover this week. First time (I think) since my Otis Taylor piece in...yikes, 2002?Maybe 2003. Can't remember.
Ever show up at a party in your work clothes where everyone else was dressed up?
Really wasn't that happy with the piece, although I did work on it longer than usual and cleaned it up quite a bit from first draft.
Fact is, I'm seldom very happy with any piece I do anymore - it's a clinical thing, I think.
Temper Trap phoner tonight.
Ever show up at a party in your work clothes where everyone else was dressed up?
Really wasn't that happy with the piece, although I did work on it longer than usual and cleaned it up quite a bit from first draft.
Fact is, I'm seldom very happy with any piece I do anymore - it's a clinical thing, I think.
Temper Trap phoner tonight.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Stanley goes spirit viral !
...or something like that....
I like to tell people I've been in the ghost hunting business long enough to remember when hotels - especially expensive, image-conscious, postcard-worthy, legendary or near-legendary hotels - got squirmingly uncomfortable if you asked about their ghost. Bad for business, either because the whole subject of ghosts is vaguely offensive to acutely religious people (it is, in some cases), directly offensive (at least credibility-denting) to stalwart atheist/materialists, or a little scary for the believers...in all cases, a drag on the business.
But, at least in the case of the Stanley Hotel, the 'Ghost Hunters Effect' has taken full hold.
I noticed that Sharon had friended up with/fanned up with them on FB, so I did too. And what have we seen? Regular exhortations about ghosts: 'who's up for our Friday night investigation this week?', 'check out these cool orb pics!', 'here's some tips and tricks for newbie ghost hunters'...etc etc.
It's marketing time, kids.
And it's true, while the Stanley has hosted 'ghost tours' and been generally paranormal-team friendly over the last few years, through social media it has now connected aggressively, enthusiastically and almost exclusively with the 20-30something Ghost Hunters crowd right where they live - orb pictures, DIY investigations, guided tours, ghost stories, etc etc. And check out our discounted room rates this weekend. Oh yeah.
Maybe it's the old-fogey in me, but I have a kind of knee-jerk "get off my lawn" reaction to all this. The practice of ghost hunting, to whatever extent you believe it's a pursuit worthy of the time and effort, is something that should be undertaken with a level of seriousness, skepticism and focused reticence. The image of all these gawking 30 something females snapping pictures in the Concert Hall and squealing when they capture the inevitable orb hanging like a semi-transparent Xmas ornament over a grainy, twilight-dark exposure of nothing kind of cheapens the allure that Stanley has held for most of us longer-than-1 year ghost hunter types. The place is, deservedly or not, a kind of ghost hunter's Promised Land. And my ire isn't helped by being a Colorado resident, imbuing the whole thing with a second level of proprietary ownership I hate to see callow interlopers challenge. Grrr!!!!
And on a more practical level, this may well make it a bit harder for us, either in DGH or FME, to get back in there and do a decent investigation. (We were up there a couple of years ago, and didn't get a thing except snapping a few orbs and getting nearly mauled by a grouchy momma elk on the front lawn...) Kinda reminds me of The Ladders TV commercials - y'know, the tennis tournament when all the slobs climb down onto the court to start playing, and ruin the whole thing.
Ah...I've become such an elitist.
Related to this, Sharon and I are discussing starting our own group. I may wonder in a few months why I even considered it (either because I did and it made obvious sense, given our currently precarious and usually frustrating role with the other three groups we 'belong' to....or I didn't, for some other reason), but from where I sit, we just have to.
Cards, website, stickers, blog, domain...the whole thing. We just have to.
First thing to do is pick a name.
Flatiron Paranormal Inquiry is my favorite, followed by Spirit Bear Paranormal.
Shall see.
I like to tell people I've been in the ghost hunting business long enough to remember when hotels - especially expensive, image-conscious, postcard-worthy, legendary or near-legendary hotels - got squirmingly uncomfortable if you asked about their ghost. Bad for business, either because the whole subject of ghosts is vaguely offensive to acutely religious people (it is, in some cases), directly offensive (at least credibility-denting) to stalwart atheist/materialists, or a little scary for the believers...in all cases, a drag on the business.
But, at least in the case of the Stanley Hotel, the 'Ghost Hunters Effect' has taken full hold.
I noticed that Sharon had friended up with/fanned up with them on FB, so I did too. And what have we seen? Regular exhortations about ghosts: 'who's up for our Friday night investigation this week?', 'check out these cool orb pics!', 'here's some tips and tricks for newbie ghost hunters'...etc etc.
It's marketing time, kids.
And it's true, while the Stanley has hosted 'ghost tours' and been generally paranormal-team friendly over the last few years, through social media it has now connected aggressively, enthusiastically and almost exclusively with the 20-30something Ghost Hunters crowd right where they live - orb pictures, DIY investigations, guided tours, ghost stories, etc etc. And check out our discounted room rates this weekend. Oh yeah.
Maybe it's the old-fogey in me, but I have a kind of knee-jerk "get off my lawn" reaction to all this. The practice of ghost hunting, to whatever extent you believe it's a pursuit worthy of the time and effort, is something that should be undertaken with a level of seriousness, skepticism and focused reticence. The image of all these gawking 30 something females snapping pictures in the Concert Hall and squealing when they capture the inevitable orb hanging like a semi-transparent Xmas ornament over a grainy, twilight-dark exposure of nothing kind of cheapens the allure that Stanley has held for most of us longer-than-1 year ghost hunter types. The place is, deservedly or not, a kind of ghost hunter's Promised Land. And my ire isn't helped by being a Colorado resident, imbuing the whole thing with a second level of proprietary ownership I hate to see callow interlopers challenge. Grrr!!!!
And on a more practical level, this may well make it a bit harder for us, either in DGH or FME, to get back in there and do a decent investigation. (We were up there a couple of years ago, and didn't get a thing except snapping a few orbs and getting nearly mauled by a grouchy momma elk on the front lawn...) Kinda reminds me of The Ladders TV commercials - y'know, the tennis tournament when all the slobs climb down onto the court to start playing, and ruin the whole thing.
Ah...I've become such an elitist.
Related to this, Sharon and I are discussing starting our own group. I may wonder in a few months why I even considered it (either because I did and it made obvious sense, given our currently precarious and usually frustrating role with the other three groups we 'belong' to....or I didn't, for some other reason), but from where I sit, we just have to.
Cards, website, stickers, blog, domain...the whole thing. We just have to.
First thing to do is pick a name.
Flatiron Paranormal Inquiry is my favorite, followed by Spirit Bear Paranormal.
Shall see.
Lenny !
Just got a pimpmail from Big Hassle that Lenny White's got a new solo CD coming shortly - first in a decade.
Clarke, Jimmy Herring, David Gilmour (!?!). Asked to get a copy - we'll see...
After the RTF reunion debacle, a few of us old fusioneers hoping for some redemption from the 1st generation. Lenny is down with it.
Clarke, Jimmy Herring, David Gilmour (!?!). Asked to get a copy - we'll see...
After the RTF reunion debacle, a few of us old fusioneers hoping for some redemption from the 1st generation. Lenny is down with it.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Loveland - Day 7
Been a bit slack about keeping up with ski-blogging, but we'll report that we've hit Day 7. Snow-wise, the season got off to a very slow start and has proceeded steadily if unspectacularly - I don't think they've had a single snow report of over 5", but no long droughts either.
Day 7 was not bad - 21 runs, generally cloudy and breezy, snow off and on.
Last few days have been 20, 21, 24 and 21 runs (if memory serves), and I'm looking at a 12-day season, with 2 or 3 weekends off to hang with Sharon...or whatever.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Desolation
I felt, a little bit ago, an oddly embracing 'ok-ness' about running Desolation with Sharon this year. Like...late August.
Yes, the date is significant.
I expect I'll snap out of it...but maybe I won't.
Yes, the date is significant.
I expect I'll snap out of it...but maybe I won't.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
New adventures in ambientia song titling
Per Drone Zone....M. Medi :"You Always Run Away Why Not This Time Just Stay Away?"
Great Big Sea
Had a nice chat with Bob Hallett from Great Big Sea yesterday, the commercial-rock/Maritime fishing-song band from Newfoundland. Their music, which I had had only a passing acquaintance with in years previous, is completely, shockingly without guile or pretense. Their rock bits are, generally, wide-open anthems of heroic love/devotion, personal triumph/tragedy...something about them reminds me of U2 before they started believing all their press.
Their folk songs - either traditional or band-composed - are neat little bits of Celtic fishin' 'n drinkin', replete with dangerous, roller-pin wives and whiskey-doused sailor jiggin'. I'd hardly be the right one to judge their authenticity, but they're fun and at least honestly delivered.
Probably not enough to make me a devoted fan, but good stuff, and looking forward to seeing one of their two Boulder Theater shows next weekend.
Their folk songs - either traditional or band-composed - are neat little bits of Celtic fishin' 'n drinkin', replete with dangerous, roller-pin wives and whiskey-doused sailor jiggin'. I'd hardly be the right one to judge their authenticity, but they're fun and at least honestly delivered.
Probably not enough to make me a devoted fan, but good stuff, and looking forward to seeing one of their two Boulder Theater shows next weekend.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Scanning, indeed
Spent much of yesterday (..not blogging, but...) going through old pics and managed to find the sequence Karin took of me running Chittam in 1998. Actually came out pretty well.
Deciding which pictures to scan, of course, is a bit of a psychological exercise (how many Deso trips do I need? Do I only scan the "healthy" pictures of Karin?), assuming one does not engage in scanning everything. Which may not necessarily be a bad thing, but would certainly present a significant investment in time.
Deciding which pictures to scan, of course, is a bit of a psychological exercise (how many Deso trips do I need? Do I only scan the "healthy" pictures of Karin?), assuming one does not engage in scanning everything. Which may not necessarily be a bad thing, but would certainly present a significant investment in time.
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