Web Log April 17 through April 30, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
The news is packed with goodies this morning. "Cold Feet!?!" Ahfergodsake!
May 21, 1983. Los Altos Golf
& Country Club. In those days, I was still playing lotsa wedding receptions.
Seems that we had become one of the "house bands" at the LAGCC. We
played about a dozen gigs a year there and, invariably, it was tame. Mostly rich
folks in their fifties, sixties and seventies who lived in manicured homes
adjacent to the Club grounds. Anyway, this particular Saturday, it was a wedding reception:
formal attire, elaborate decorations, open bar and a sit-down meal for hundreds of guests
ranging in age from eight to eighty. Yup. Big bucks.
The newlyweds arrived and, right away, it was clear that the groom had gotten a
(let's call it) 'head start' on the festivities. His name, I think, was Gary.
Twenty five, maybe. Tall. Strong. Good-looking...and VERY drunk. Shortly
after stumbling into the reception hall, he found us and, with a thick tongue, told us to make sure we played "Proud Mary". In those days, it
seemed that every bride requested "Color My World" (ya know, that
pseudo-classical Chicago pop tune) for the couple's First Dance.
The bride was radiant in white. Twenty-two...twenty-three, maybe. Angular. Delicate.
Pretty auburn hair. Graceful and gracious. Not drunk and (still managing
to keep) a bright smile on her face for this, the 'happiest day of my life'.
Her sober, upstanding father, however, had already sensed the disaster about to
be made of this (probably) thirty-thousand-dollar affair he had bankrolled. The
groom kept drinking. Soon, he could no longer marshal the patience (or dexterity) to
first pour the champagne into a glass...so he drank directly from an upturned
bottle. All through the First Dance, he seemed about to go horizontal. The
(traditional) fast(er) selection (OK, it was "Proud Mary") that
followed the First Dance found him crashing into the cymbals. I kept my left leg
wedged up against the microphone stand as I sang & played, lest that
microphone be forced into my teeth (or even down my throat). [I've had more than
a little experience playing for rowdy dancers.] On Gary's next pass by
the bandstand, the keyboard player had to push him (with both hands)
back to the dance floor where he nearly trampled a Flower Girl after unbalancing
a Bridesmaid. Realizing that someone might be seriously injured (or even killed)
by these antics (the groom weighed, like, 250 pounds!), his Best Man tried to
intervene. But Gary only waxed hostile at any suggestion that he was 'out of
control'. "I'm just tryin' to have a good time! ", he bellowed.
It was not long after this attempt at intervention that he tossed an empty
bottle of champagne across the room. Fortunately, it landed on the faux-teak
dance floor and not on the head of a celebrant...but the bride's father had seen
enough and, with the help of some borrowed male muscle, escorted the groom out
of the hall and into an area where he might be "counseled". Gary was
having none of it, however and so, barely one hour into the celebration, the
Los Altos police were called and the groom was forcibly restrained, handcuffed
and led away to the Station.
As we took down our stuff and loaded our station wagons for the drive home, we
beheld the pitiable sight of the beautiful bride sitting on the brick steps of
the Club...sobbing. If Gary didn't wanna get married, then why didn't he just
say so?
Friday, April 29, 2005 Happy Birthday, Coz!
"...don't expect contestants to be eating insects, getting covered in leeches or being stranded on a Caribbean island. [Miss America's Chief Executive] Art McMaster insisted the beauty queens would be treated in 'a very respectful way.' " Darn!
Think ya talk funny? Wanna find out? Here's a free evaluation. (Courtesy of BG.)
I missed Alfred's (only the fourth of his Presidency) prime time news conference last night. But I'll bet two quarters he didn't suggest (as part of his Social Security 'reform package') that Americans would be better off (these days) investing their retirement monies in the NYSE. Right?
Thursday, April 28, 2005 Happy Birthday, Gail!
So what'll it be? Well, I could write about the guy who had everything to live for...but evidently chose to 'have it out' with a fellow yuppie in a road-rage incident after a Sacramento Kings game. (Sometimes I get that way just driving Maggie to school.)
But who needs more grief? Here's the new line of Hallmark Cards, found in the Dysfunctional section. Thanks again to Skip for lightening this day.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
No one is allowed (in the 'mainstream' media) to ask whether
American foreign policy (over the years) contributed to the hatred that fueled
the attacks on 9/11/2001. Just ask Maggie-Gyllenhaal.
Or Saudi Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal, whose offer of ten million dollars in relief aid was
rejected by Rudolf Giuliani solely because the Prince had asked that forbidden
question.
But...if a guy throws a brick at me while I'm standing in my front
yard...shouldn't I ask "why?"
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Skip sent me this
link to a "pretty funny clip of a girl that had been drinking pretty
heavy at an office party. She starts to rip on her boss to the camera."
I think it's not only funny, it's also, maybe, tragic even! Talk about 'reality
video'! The 'girl' (a young woman, actually) turns a quite visible hot red as
she seeks to undo the work of her own (let's call it) 'spontaneity'. Of course,
her boss IS an asshole and can she help it if drunks
don't lie ?
She'll find another job...someday.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Christ, I'm boring!! Been working out horn parts for Some Time. I think I've got the first part worked out (roughly recorded) and now (snore) I'll proceed to the second. Each individual part ('voice') will be recorded on three separate tracks and then combined into one stereo track, ready for use in a final mix.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Worked all day yesterday on Some Time.
After almost six months, I am finally feeling knowledgeable (if not yet
proficient) in Pro Tools. On this current project I've made good use of
so-called 'Auxiliary tracks' for so-called 'sub mixes'. For example, if I have
three separate vocal tracks, I will mix them down to one (stereo) track apart
from everything else within the session ('session' is the Pro Tools term
for what I prefer to call 'project'). IOW, I 'pre-record' the vocal mix
(adding reverb or whatever else). Not only is this quite convenient and helpful
when it comes to doing a final mix...it's a literal virtual
necessity for the practical application of this recording software! I
find that, even with my Pentium 4 with half a Gb of Ram and a 1.7 GHz
processor...it's not enough to meet the processing demands of even
this 'Light Edition' (LE) of Pro Tools! However, by processing and
combining multiple tracks before a final mix, the instantaneous demands
on the hardware can be diminished...and with no loss in musical
output.
In the days of 'tape recording', making use of sub mixes was partially driven by
the need to 'open up' more tracks on which to record. But, unlike with computer
recording, sub mixes in tape recording came at the cost of increased noise.
"It's a great feeling to
have German pope," said Martin Hackmann, a 40 year-old salesman from
northern Germany who got to the square at 4.00 am to get a good seat for the Mass.
But many were disappointed that Benedict XVI said nothing in German. "We
didn't understand much." said Julian Bruening, 13, from Hardup in
northern Germany.
So...where the HELL!
is Hardup? I once got a collection notice from the Hardic
Agency and, in part, it read, "While it is our policy to deal amicably
with deserving individuals, you have violated every trust and courtesy
that we have extended to you!"
"I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and
again; your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars."
- FDR, Speech in Boston, October 30, 1940.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Putting the Boob Into the Tube : Doncha wonder what it is that Nicole knows she DID!?!
Just as "Mr. Cheney wants to dismantle the New Deal and go back to 1937, Pope Benedict XVI wants to dismantle Vatican II and go back to 1397. As a scholar, his specialty was "patristics," the study of the key thinkers in the first eight centuries of the church." Maureen Dowd
Friday, April 22, 2005 Earth Day
Mono-mix post of 'Some Time' (new title). Still straightening out some cymbal crashes. :-+)) Tomorrow...with clarinet and tenor saxophone.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
A 'good' liar instinctively knows that mendacities are most readily accepted when they comport with the expectations and desires of recipients. It also helps to include, within any falsehood, some triviality...as a means of distraction.
Bush blamed partisan bickering in the nation's capital
"where sometimes politics gets in the way of doing the people's
business" for a delay in a committee vote on John Bolton's nomination to be
our UN Ambassador, even though that delay came about only because some
Republicans have joined Democrats to force it.
Carl Ford, who ran the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research
(and describes himself as a conservative Republican loyal to Bush),
called Bolton a "kiss-up, kick-down kind of guy".
"I've never met anyone like him ... in terms of the way he abuses his
power and authority over little people," Ford said.
All during my long confinement, I searched for a phrase to describe those who would have 'power' in the BHC. Now, thanks to Mr. Ford, my search has ended. But I continue to wonder if what the managers told us was what they believed...or simply what they expected 'little people' to believe.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Asked if there was anything in his background that gave her hope that Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) would build a stronger partnership with women in the church, Sister Donna Quinn (of the National Coalition of American Nuns) said: "We always hope for miracles."
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Ten years ago this morning, the Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed.
[^_^]
If one needs any more confirmation that the end is at hand, here it is:
Sacrilege: Consecrated Host Sold on EBAY!
Fatima Center Urges Reparation and Protest, April 15, 2005
Catholics throughout North America are stunned and
outraged at the news that a consecrated Host from a 1998 Papal Mass in Rome was
sold on EBAY. The Host was posted for sale on
Saturday, April 9, with a minimum bid of $100.00. The seller was a non-Catholic
who reportedly lives in Sloan, Iowa. Father Nicholas Gruner, the Director of the
Fatima Center, said the modern abuse of Communion in the hand in
Catholic churches made the incident possible. "Communion in the hand has
always been forbidden in the Catholic Church precisely to prevent
sacrilege," Father Gruner said.
"It is also sacrilege," said Father Kramer, "because it is an
extremely grave desecration of the Blessed Sacrament, which is the Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. In previous ages, even the
temporal government regarded such an offense as a capital
crime!"
The Associated Press reported that the Host was finally sold on Monday,
April 11 for $2,000.00 The buyer allegedly was a Catholic in California who
purchased the Host to save it from desecration. It quoted the buyer as saying,
"Any minute I waited, It could have fallen into the hands of a witch or
Satanist. That’s Jesus in the Host!". It is hoped that the Catholic
turned the Host over to a Catholic priest so that It could be reverently
consumed. It would also be fitting for EBAY to refund the Catholic gentleman the
$2000.00 he paid to rescue the Host.
Monday, April 18, 2005 
Ninety-nine years ago this morning..."At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicenter near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada."
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Laugh, and the world will laugh with you.
Weep, and you shall weep alone.
"A banker is the person who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining
and wants it back the minute it rains." Samuel
Langhorne Clemmons (1835-1910)