There's something I need to get off my chest, and no it's not David. It's my utter disdain for the Holiday shopping season. Part of the problem I have with this time of season is the fact that I never, ever seem to start my shopping until December, no matter what good intentions I have all Fall. As of now, I'm trying to beat the Super Shipping ship by Dec. 24th deadline on Amazon, at this point there are two days left, and trying to squeeze in all of my other online orders using standard shipping. Why in the hell would I want to pay $16 for expedited shipping on an $8 candle from Yankee Candle? The expedited shipping alone costs the same as two gifts. Not that I'm cheap, I'm just trying to reap what's left after getting royally screwed in a Ponzi scheme, but that's a whole 'nother entry. Hey, $10 is $10, am I right?
Another thing about the Holiday season that ruffles my ass feathers is the fact that some folks think it's okay to not have jam sessions for three weeks! Just as I'm really getting into this whole Saturday night 4-hour jam, we're taking a 3 week break! What the hell??? Are they going to Australia for the rest of the year? Well, guess this means the only G-strings I'll be breaking will have lace. There is a silver lining though. I joined a bunch of other Meetup groups, and one meets this Thursday in Forest Hills, Queens...only 15 minutes away. Don't get me wrong, I love my Manhattan meetups, but the drive and parking is a bitch.
It snowed today, so it looks like it's going to be a White Christmas after all. It's not quite sticking, only on the grass and on cars does any evidence remain. Since it snowed we used this as an excuse to go to the mall, because we thought people would be discouraged from shopping in the sloppy weather. We were wrong, but it wasn't so bad. Nobody was killed or injured, but I did throw some wicked stares at passers-by.
I hear some Cheez Doodles calling my name, so I'm off. Happy Holiday Shopping to all, and to all a Good Night!
Ciao my gentle snowflakes!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Should People With Boring Lives Blog?
Last night I realized I am boring. Well, my life isn't totally boring, but it's not especially exciting. It's not that I'm in a rut, I guess it's just that I'm in-between things right now and the holidays are putting a damper on getting my act together. Today's big news is Lewis Black pre-sale tickets for the Borgata went on sale this afternoon, and of course I did not see the email until this evening. Crappy seats anyone? Guess I'll have to pull some strings at the Borgata.
Should people with boring lives blog? Sure, boring people litter the reality television landscape, but at least there's no work involved in the onlooker's case. But reading a blog that's not chocked full of fun and adventure can be time consuming for the reader. Who wants to write the blog where the reader, upon finishing, thinks "I'll never get those ___ minutes back!". It's almost as bad as paying $12 for a lousy movie. Who knows, maybe I will look at this blog one day and realize that I need to get out there and do more to enhance my existence, for the sake of my readers. You will be the catalyst for my life having meaning. You should be proud of yourselves.
Then again, maybe I'm forgetting all the fun stuff. I have been doing that a lot recently, forgetting things. Maybe it's a sign of age, or maybe it's a sign of winter's discontent, but whatever the case is, I will try to do better. Not for myself, but for You. You are why I am here. The days of hanging out with rock bands, making out with bassists in Tony Roma's, sneaking backstage at the Aerosmith/Metallica show in Woodstock '94, chatting with Joey Ramone about the quality of Irving Plaza, those days will be revisited. Although I'm now too old to get myself into all kinds of trouble, trouble I will seek. 2009 and Bad Gal Byron is baaaaaack, bitches!
But I digress. Just because now I am able to afford bail, does not mean I'm willing to pay bail. Sooooo, come hell or high water I will try to make my blogs more interesting, within the context of the law.
Damn, I can't believe I said that. Sigh!
Ciao for now!
Should people with boring lives blog? Sure, boring people litter the reality television landscape, but at least there's no work involved in the onlooker's case. But reading a blog that's not chocked full of fun and adventure can be time consuming for the reader. Who wants to write the blog where the reader, upon finishing, thinks "I'll never get those ___ minutes back!". It's almost as bad as paying $12 for a lousy movie. Who knows, maybe I will look at this blog one day and realize that I need to get out there and do more to enhance my existence, for the sake of my readers. You will be the catalyst for my life having meaning. You should be proud of yourselves.
Then again, maybe I'm forgetting all the fun stuff. I have been doing that a lot recently, forgetting things. Maybe it's a sign of age, or maybe it's a sign of winter's discontent, but whatever the case is, I will try to do better. Not for myself, but for You. You are why I am here. The days of hanging out with rock bands, making out with bassists in Tony Roma's, sneaking backstage at the Aerosmith/Metallica show in Woodstock '94, chatting with Joey Ramone about the quality of Irving Plaza, those days will be revisited. Although I'm now too old to get myself into all kinds of trouble, trouble I will seek. 2009 and Bad Gal Byron is baaaaaack, bitches!
But I digress. Just because now I am able to afford bail, does not mean I'm willing to pay bail. Sooooo, come hell or high water I will try to make my blogs more interesting, within the context of the law.
Damn, I can't believe I said that. Sigh!
Ciao for now!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Jammin' and Lovin' It
Well, I took the first steps into the next phase of my quest for musical domination. Last week, I went to two jams and have fallen in love with performing all over again.
Thursday was my debut at back room of The Grisly Pear on MacDougal Street in the Village, and there were about 30 folks there, mostly guitars, a harmonica player, a mandolin and a violin, and the format is a kind of sing-a-long/karaoke type jam (all acoustic). This group is led by Rich Fosella, a nice guy with a great voice who runs the NY Musicians Group along with Phil Robinson. A few of us were first-timers, and we were able to jump right into the fun. Rich has prepared songbooks for our use, and the charts are very easy to follow. This group has meets in Washington Square Park, which was of course very pleasing to my ears.
On Saturday, I went to The Studio on W.30th Street in Manhattan, and jammed with an electric group for four hours. It was fun hearing my bass on a 'real amp' and hearing my voice projected in this room. This group is led by Rob Watson, a bass player. I got to play bass for two hours, and guitar for two hours. Knowing that I will be playing in a room with another bass player, I will also bring along my electric guitar to the next jam. This was a fun jam, we were loud and rocking out. We closed with Led Zep's Black Dog, and it sounded absolutely wonderful.
No matter the circumstances that befall me, I always come out happier and healthier when music is involved. Seems music always helps me find my way.
Oh, another thing...last night I went to see the new Circque du Soleil winter show, Wintuk, at the WaMu Theater at MSG, and it was fantastic. The costumes, characters and music were breathtaking, but the real star of the show was the acrobatic abilities of the players. These people are amazingly limber and quite deft in their craft. If you ever have a chance to get to a CdS show, by all means do so. You haven't really seen them until you've seen them live!
Nothing much happening on the musical scene this week, being a holiday weekend, and I'm going away for the weekend. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and try to stay out of the malls on Black Friday. If you do have to go shopping, please do wear safety gear!
Ciao Baby!
Thursday was my debut at back room of The Grisly Pear on MacDougal Street in the Village, and there were about 30 folks there, mostly guitars, a harmonica player, a mandolin and a violin, and the format is a kind of sing-a-long/karaoke type jam (all acoustic). This group is led by Rich Fosella, a nice guy with a great voice who runs the NY Musicians Group along with Phil Robinson. A few of us were first-timers, and we were able to jump right into the fun. Rich has prepared songbooks for our use, and the charts are very easy to follow. This group has meets in Washington Square Park, which was of course very pleasing to my ears.
On Saturday, I went to The Studio on W.30th Street in Manhattan, and jammed with an electric group for four hours. It was fun hearing my bass on a 'real amp' and hearing my voice projected in this room. This group is led by Rob Watson, a bass player. I got to play bass for two hours, and guitar for two hours. Knowing that I will be playing in a room with another bass player, I will also bring along my electric guitar to the next jam. This was a fun jam, we were loud and rocking out. We closed with Led Zep's Black Dog, and it sounded absolutely wonderful.
No matter the circumstances that befall me, I always come out happier and healthier when music is involved. Seems music always helps me find my way.
Oh, another thing...last night I went to see the new Circque du Soleil winter show, Wintuk, at the WaMu Theater at MSG, and it was fantastic. The costumes, characters and music were breathtaking, but the real star of the show was the acrobatic abilities of the players. These people are amazingly limber and quite deft in their craft. If you ever have a chance to get to a CdS show, by all means do so. You haven't really seen them until you've seen them live!
Nothing much happening on the musical scene this week, being a holiday weekend, and I'm going away for the weekend. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and try to stay out of the malls on Black Friday. If you do have to go shopping, please do wear safety gear!
Ciao Baby!
Monday, November 17, 2008
You Better Move On
Upon us all, a little rain must fall.
Everyone has their breaking point, when you need to stand back and analyze exactly why we do certain things, and put up with a lot of negative input from others. Sometimes when a person thinks they're doing what they think is good for you, they don't realize that in essence they're bringing you down. When someone who has so much to give has nothing nice to say about anyone but themselves, you wonder what has poisoned their rationality into thinking that their toxicity is not hurting others? These are the times when you realize that you have to move on.
Lately I have been checking out http://www.meetup.com/, looking for some musical outlets on evenings and weekends. Music is something that brings me such joy, and although I'm not very proficient at my bass playing, I am getting better. My intention was to find a group that welcomes novice players and singers. So far I've found a recreational musical group, a folk group and a harmony singing group. Between the three, I should be able to meet nice folks and maybe learn a thing or two about musical camaraderie, without all the spikes and daggers that some people like to throw at newbies like me. In my opinion, music should be all about fun and positive thinking. This is a big step for me, stepping out of my comfort zone, but life is a constant procession, and if I don't take chances, chances will never find me. Although my rose-tinted glasses have been severely stained, I will again find optimism in my music.
We'll see how this works out. Hope is a wonderful feeling.
Everyone has their breaking point, when you need to stand back and analyze exactly why we do certain things, and put up with a lot of negative input from others. Sometimes when a person thinks they're doing what they think is good for you, they don't realize that in essence they're bringing you down. When someone who has so much to give has nothing nice to say about anyone but themselves, you wonder what has poisoned their rationality into thinking that their toxicity is not hurting others? These are the times when you realize that you have to move on.
Lately I have been checking out http://www.meetup.com/, looking for some musical outlets on evenings and weekends. Music is something that brings me such joy, and although I'm not very proficient at my bass playing, I am getting better. My intention was to find a group that welcomes novice players and singers. So far I've found a recreational musical group, a folk group and a harmony singing group. Between the three, I should be able to meet nice folks and maybe learn a thing or two about musical camaraderie, without all the spikes and daggers that some people like to throw at newbies like me. In my opinion, music should be all about fun and positive thinking. This is a big step for me, stepping out of my comfort zone, but life is a constant procession, and if I don't take chances, chances will never find me. Although my rose-tinted glasses have been severely stained, I will again find optimism in my music.
We'll see how this works out. Hope is a wonderful feeling.
Monday, November 10, 2008
There's a first for everything in life...
...and this is a first for me. Never thought I'd start a blog, but since I'm growing very tired of talking to myself, I thought I'd share some of these random thoughts with you out there in cyberworlds near and far. While my significant other is stretched out on my couch watching the Rangers play Edmonton (and clouding my home with a cruel methane emission), we can just sit here with each other and talk.
Let's start with last week. Wow! What can I say? It's finally over and Barack Obama will be our new President. Wow! Just as Canada was beginning to look like a pretty neat place to relocate, I've been given a new lease on living in the grand ol' USA. Any Democrat would have been cool, but an African-American, awesome! I think I'll stick around for the next four years, just to see where Obama can take us. Hey, it can't get any worse, can it?
Hmmm, there's a fight going on at the hockey game. Score is tied at 2. We're in the third period. Hey, let's start a fight to get the momentum going. Two penalties each, poor babies. These freaking names are enough to make me want to change the channel, but that'll only start another fight.
You might have asked yourself why is the name of my blogspot Yoshi's Dreams and Stranger Things? Well, Yoshi is my cat. She is a Russian Blue mix and she and I have been together for over 16 years. Yoshi was named after the little dinosaur companion from Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers. My ex, Matt, bought her home one day with a big red bow around her neck. We went through a lot of names (and even more pot) to come up with that name. I always had a thing for that little dinosaur, so it just seemed fitting. The other part of my blogspot's name is taken from my favorite comic strip, Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County. One of his Treasuries was called Penguin Dreams and Stranger Things, and since he recently ended his Sunday-only strip, Opus, I thought it would be a nice tribute to a strip that has bought me such joy over the last 28 years.
Well, now the game is in overtime. I think I'm going to sleep. Thanks for holding my hand as I take my first steps into this Brave New World of blogging.
Ciao for now!
Let's start with last week. Wow! What can I say? It's finally over and Barack Obama will be our new President. Wow! Just as Canada was beginning to look like a pretty neat place to relocate, I've been given a new lease on living in the grand ol' USA. Any Democrat would have been cool, but an African-American, awesome! I think I'll stick around for the next four years, just to see where Obama can take us. Hey, it can't get any worse, can it?
Hmmm, there's a fight going on at the hockey game. Score is tied at 2. We're in the third period. Hey, let's start a fight to get the momentum going. Two penalties each, poor babies. These freaking names are enough to make me want to change the channel, but that'll only start another fight.
You might have asked yourself why is the name of my blogspot Yoshi's Dreams and Stranger Things? Well, Yoshi is my cat. She is a Russian Blue mix and she and I have been together for over 16 years. Yoshi was named after the little dinosaur companion from Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers. My ex, Matt, bought her home one day with a big red bow around her neck. We went through a lot of names (and even more pot) to come up with that name. I always had a thing for that little dinosaur, so it just seemed fitting. The other part of my blogspot's name is taken from my favorite comic strip, Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County. One of his Treasuries was called Penguin Dreams and Stranger Things, and since he recently ended his Sunday-only strip, Opus, I thought it would be a nice tribute to a strip that has bought me such joy over the last 28 years.
Well, now the game is in overtime. I think I'm going to sleep. Thanks for holding my hand as I take my first steps into this Brave New World of blogging.
Ciao for now!
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