Web Log Archive April 3rd through April 16, 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)

Saturday, April 16, 2005

"Not their love, but the impotence of their love keeps today's Christians from burning us at the stake!" Fred

Friday, April 15, 2005

Just when everyone thought they had figured out where the finger had come from...comes this. 

Thursday, April 14, 2005   Julie Christie is 64.

April 14th is a famous evening. Abraham Lincoln was shot 140 years ago and the Titanic struck an iceberg 93 years ago. Both went down the next morning.

I'm sure it isn't lost on Art Mijares that 'Santa' is an anagram of 'Satan'. But what about 'lived'? And 'dog'? God help us!

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

If there is a stupider subject than whether JP II should be declared a Saint...I don't know what it is. While people who claim to have met up with creatures from outer space are casually dismissed as goofballs...and while people who claim to hear voices and see things that nobody else can hear and see are routinely treated with strong pharmaceuticals, nobody blinks when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (on the short list, incidentally, to be the next Chief Clown) says "We can be sure that our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the Father's house." Yo Joe! What part of 'he died' don't you understand? He ain't standing nowhere near anybody's window at anybody's father's house! But...for those of us who might feel the need to relive "the procession to St Peter's Basilica and highlights of the funeral mass", there is some good news! And also: thank you, Robert Scheer! My sentiments precisely!

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Mix #6 of Ruby. That's a Bb Clarinet...not a saxophone. I bought my first clarinet in 1968 and even took lessons for a year from Ben Meltzer, late of Forrest's Music, back when he taught on the second floor of the house-converted to-store on Shattuck Ave. (near University) in Berkeley. I, myself, taught guitar for several years in the 60's and 70's and it's a profession that requires reserves of patience but (speaking at least about an acoustic guitar) there are only so many awful sounds it can make...and it can't even make them very loud! The clarinet presents a contrasting situation. Anyone who has ever studied reeds knows that it takes some (let's call it) "devotion" to get a decent sound without being too loud (that is, without just blowing as hard as you can into the horn). Poor Ben. Squeak! How he suffered at the hands of beginners like me! One of his oft-repeated admonitions during our weekly lesson was "Who the hell needs it that loud?"

OK, Mix #7 has been posted. Still working on the horn parts. Now that I realize what I'm doing, I'm gonna record them all over again. Maybe tonight.

Monday, April 11, 2005

An hyperbola is the set of points, the difference of whose distances from two 'focus points' (called the 'foci') is the same.

It's getting so that whenever I hear a sensational news story (like the woman who found a severed finger in her chili at Wendy's), I either don't believe it or I know there must be something more to it! 'Half of what you see and none of what you hear!'

Sunday, April 10, 2005

An ellipse is the set of points, the sum of whose distances from two 'focus points' (called the 'foci') is the same. A circle is an ellipse with foci that coincide.

Saturday, April 9, 2005

It's-still-a-man's-world department: One of the NYT's letter writers has a sense of humor. Daria Crittenden writes, "To ensure that all prescriptions are filled by every pharmacy, a few pharmacists should volunteer to stop selling Viagra, saying, "I'm just not comfortable with that." Then sit back and wait for the public outrage."

Friday, April 8, 2005       Happy Birthday KC! Six Years old today! (^=^)

Skinny on the latest undertakings.

Thursday, April 7, 2005 

Bumper sticker I backed up to read yesterday morning: "I support the separation of Church and Hate!" 

Posted a new mix of Ruby.  (^=^)

Thanks to KB for flagging an inquiring-minds-need-to-know article from England. What a gig!
  

And while we're on the subject, here's what some mean ole stinky offered about Chucky's dad:


 "Prince Philip is widely regarded as a grumpy, anachronistic, nasty man who has managed to insult entire national groups and whose strict formality and coolness toward his children is blamed by pop-psychologists for the family’s apparent dysfunction."

Yeah, yeah...go on! But does that mean he's hard to like?

Wednesday, April 6th, 2005   Happy Birthday, Jerry!

I spoke too soon! A brilliant article in today's NYT, by Thomas Cahill, is well worth the three minutes it will take to read. Here's an excerpt: "In order to have been named a bishop [by John Paul II], a priest must have been seen to be absolutely opposed to masturbation, premarital sex, birth control (including condoms used to prevent the spread of AIDS), abortion, divorce, homosexual relations, married priests, female priests and any hint of Marxism. It is nearly impossible to find men who subscribe wholeheartedly to this entire catalogue of certitudes; as a result the ranks of the episcopate are filled with mindless sycophants and intellectual incompetents." Whoa!

Ah dunno about this one: "With his very visible position on television each night, Jennings could be an inspiration for many Americans going through a similar fight", said Dr. David Johnson, chief of oncology and hematology at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Tuesday, April 5th, 2005    Happy Birthday, Vincent! Happy Birthday, Alice!

I can hardly turn on the tube or even look at a Web page. Even the NYT has let me down in its choice of letters. This is surely not a time for any of us who do NOT think that JP II was a great man! It has now been announced that Alfred E. himself will attend the obsequies in Italy. The only thing about the old guy that I ever DID like was his opposition to our invasion of Iraq. But these days, even that is alluded to, when at all, as madcap. 'Cute', even! Nothin' to take too seriously...or keep Alfred E. from cuddlin' up. 

Monday, April 4, 2005      It's 4/4!

Of all the good-fer-nothin', funny-lookin', big-eared, pea-brained, lightweight, polo-playing horse's-ass layabouts of this world...Prince Charles ranks about 3rd!  But hey! Neither is he all bad. Charles is prepared make personal sacrifices when the need is great! So not only has he postponed, for a day, his much-noticed but maybe-not-so-popular-in-the-Isles wedding to the woman of his dreams, he's also cut short his latest much-deserved vacation (from the work of waiting for his mother to die) to be on hand for the folderol planned this Friday in Rome! 

Sylvia Poggioli this morning on NPR said that the Pope "appears very serene" on his bier. OK.

Sunday, April 3, 2005

Not since the death of the 'People's Princess' (gimme a break!) in 1997 have we been force-fed such a banquet of nonsense by our electronic media. Yes, God must love stupid people, indeed! Many of us believe that JP II was a silly old fool who, upon the murder of JP I, found himself at the helm of a corrupt and bloated institution long-dedicated to the proliferation and perpetuation of superstition and ignorance around the world. But those of us with such unsentimental views will not be heard in this 'mainstream media', long-dedicated as it is to the proliferation (and perpetuation) of...new cars!