Best Gig Ever

Well, the gig is confirmed:

Live Nation Presents:

Bumpus Hounds Live
April 8th, 2008
Arizona Insane Asylum

Ok, I exaggerate a little. Unfortunately, we aren't big enough to be promoted by Live Nation. Also, I don't think the place is called the Arizona Insane Asylum. Make no mistake, even though that is not the official name, the venue is indeed a mental rehabilitation center. To that end, I have concocted an ultimate cover setlist. This will be the proper order, methinks:

(Welcome Home) Sanitarium - Metallica
Mama, Weer All Crazee Now - Quiet Riot
Crazy Train/Suicide Solution Medley - Ozzy Osbourne
Crazy - Aerosmith
Insane in the Membrane (folk remix) - Cyprus Hill

Oh man, the options are endless. There are even a few Suicidal Tendencies songs that would work well for this most inappropriate set.

All kidding aside, I am leaving Mike to the setlist. I know we are doing Hole Hearted (an anthem from a couple weeks ago), but other than that, I am uncertain. Oh, there will be a medley that will include "Join Together" by The Who and "Yoda" by Wierd Al. The rest of that medley is still in the air. If I get any pictures or video to post, I will certainly do so.

How did we get this gig? This is a state sponsored event and Mike works for the state.

DEFCON 4

Sheesh...I take one day off work and you'd thing the whole operation is going down. I shudder to think what will happen when I leave for a week in a few days.

Life is busy. I am almost done with my ginormous paper on multi-national corporations. Alas, I was not able to get any of it done today though. I feel a trifle under the weather, but I also feel like I am getting better. As noted in a previous post, allergies suck.

To that end, let's get some feel good (Dr. Feelgood?) music up in here. I could take the easy route and go with Dr. Feelgood, but I shant. It has occured to me that I have never put Motley Crue up here as an anthem, so let's take this opportunity to dedicate our week to them. Whenever the female pisses me off, I think of the following words "go away". So (in case you haven't guessed), I am choosing "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)". This may actually be my favorite song of theirs anyway. It is so unlike anything else they've ever done. Maybe that's why.

What the frick?

I have a gigantic zit on my forehead and it hurts like the dickens. I never get zits. Kristin pointed out as much in her surprise that I actually have one. I threw some of her Proactiv crap on it, so here's hoping it works.

Well, good things are on the horizon for old Aaron, both present and future. The barbecue was a huge success thanks in no small part to Mike and his Rock Band game. I have been hearing about it since, and I have been asked when the sequel to the event might be. I have decided to throw another cookout/game night together on May 24th, the Saturday before Memorial Day. The presence of Rock band will depend solely on whether or not Mike is free. Or if someone else I invite has the game. At any rate, Kristin actually got some social interaction which was a sizeable part of the overall purpose of hosting the get together.

So that is one forthcoming event. Other items coming up include my brother, Marc's wedding on April 11th. The one nice thing about having family in Orlando is that it gives extra incentive to hit Disney World (which we will be doing), so that will be good times. It will be nice to be with the whole family again. Last time we were all together at the same place and time was for the few days surrounding my Grandfather's funeral. This will be a more joyous occasion to be sure.

In nine weeks from yesterday (as Mike Seppy pointed out on my last post), I will have my home graced by the aforementioned person indicated in the parenteses. He is considering a move out here. In fact, he is calling this visit a "sales pitch". For those of us in Arizona that have lived in or at least been to the DC area (or the Midatlantic anyway) can testify that such a move is advisable. If for no other reason that the girls are undeniably hot and they have no issues dating men in a league well below their own. This matters little to me now, but Mike is single. So the sale should be easy to make. Anyway, the reason for the timing of his visit is to go to the Iron Maiden concert on Memorial Day. He also gets a chance to experience the heat here (and realize it isn't all that bad). He has been out here in January and October, so the weather has always been awesome in his experience.

Great concerts are forthcoming as well. Rush is on May 1st, and then Iron Maiden (as mentioned) on May 26th. Good times.

Mike (Bahr) and I continue to make headway on our musical project. Expect us playing shows by (at the latest) sometime in May.

The next couple months look pretty strong for me. The only downside is the unreasonable amount of writing I have to do for my classes. I will have written over thirty pages of single-space material by the end of this session (which lasts eight weeks). Knowing my loquaciousness, I am sure I will write much more than that. Add to that the discussion questions that sometimes require a dissertation to answer. Such is the lot of the online student I suppose. Don't let anyone tell you online is easier. The expectations and workload are much higher. The only benefit is doing the work around one's schedule.

Okay, so let's get some music up here. This week's was actually inspired by another band (Queensryche). Before Sting wrote absolute crap, he wrote great stuff alongside two other men that though not flashy musicians, cowrote some of the most memorable and timeless rock songs ever. It is actually quite hard to find a person who doesn't like them. I of course speak of The Police. One of the great iconic songs from the 1980's is "Synchronicity II". The Police had so many great songs, but this is by far the best. In fact, I like it as much as I like any Rush, Iron Maiden, or Dream Theater song.

Taking a Breather

Boy, it sure is nice to know the climate can take a few minutes to catch its breath. All that warming must be terribly exhausting!

NPR cracks me up. We are all aware by now that they decidedly lean to the left on every issue. Now we have proof that global warming is not taking place. NPR can't admit that though. They might lose their funding. Instead of saying "the Global Warming theory may not be happening afterall" thay say that global warming might be "taking a breather". Or that the scientists don't know how to read temperature data. It is this kind of fallacious (specifically wishful thinking, group think, and scare tactics) rhetoric that keeps me from embracing anything the left has to offer. That and I enjoy my personal freedoms.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88520025

I've Got Blisters On Me Fingers!

I kid, I kid. But I am surprised I don't. The action on my guitar is groin-grabbingly oppressive. If one can measure the distance from the fretboard to the strings in centimeters (note the lural), then one has a problem. That is, of course, unless one plays slide guitar - which I do not. I knew the action was a problem already since my hammer-ons are virtually silent, but the extent caught me off guard. A kindly member at the shooting range owns the guitar shop in Casa Grande. I was to buy a hardshell case from him. When he brought it in, we discovered two things: the headstock on my guitar has the length of a 12 string rendering the case he brought useless, and the aforementioned issue with the action. To rectify these issues, I have decided that when I go to Florida in April, I am going to have him fix the action at his shop, and fit my guitar for a case. In all, this will run $120. Not bad considering the case will be a Gator case. Look it up if you want more information on those. All I can say is that I have always loved the Gators I have had in the past, and they are typically not cheap.

Speaking of guitars, one of the songs I have been working on for the project I am doing with Mike is a little diddy by Extreme called "Hole Hearted". The song rules on at least fifteen different levels. I have been working on it since last weekend (when I have goten a chance) and have made considerable headway. It will be performance ready quite soon, methinks. It may even be a possibility for performance by this Saturday's barbecue the wife and I are hosting - in a medley capacity. Anyway, I have decided to share the very (I mean very) cheesy video with you all for this week's anthem. Enjoy!

"The View From Up Here" Number Two

To continue to fine tune my writing skills, I submit a monthly column to the dojo's newsletter entitled "The View From Up Here". Since there are people from the dojo that read my posts, I will be posting the column on this blog after the Newsletter itself is posted. I don't want to spoil anything.

From the March, 2008 edition of the Phoenix Quest Center's newsletter, "Desert Elements":

On February 9, the dojo was visited by godan-ranked senior instructor, Tori Eldridge. Those of us who made it to the seminar were treated to a new outlook on how to utilize what we have been learning in To-Shin Do. Mrs. Eldridge’s passion and fiery exuberance threw even more kindling into the already blazing inferno of desire we have for this art. As with Mr. Varnum, she left us hungrier for this life-long endeavor than we walked in to the seminar with. Also as with Mr. Varnum, we each took something unique that she said or did with profound understanding, or at the very least, we were left with something to ponder.
This leads me to the topic of the month: Own the Center. For me, these words alone were worth the price of admission and have stuck with me since. By way of background, Mrs. Eldridge was teaching a series of techniques (mostly take-downs) that required little to no striking and certainly no real output of muscle power. The validity of these techniques were demonstrated many times when she would easily put a person down who is a foot and a half taller and easily outweighs her by over one hundred pounds (me) without a single strike. She attributed her ability to do this by owning the center.
Many of us, including myself, applied own the center to the strictly exoteric sense since it was only used when speaking of the physical technique. In the time that has passed since, this phrase has stuck with me. As I have pondered on this, the more intrinsic and esoteric nature of own the center began to manifest itself. The thought came to mind: If it is beneficial to own the center physically, would it not stand to reason that such a mantra would apply to the other aspects of our lives (mental, spiritual, emotional, et al)? Indeed, we have been taught many times in our Life Skills sessions that Taijutsu, while very much physical, translates harmoniously to the other aspects of our beings that altogether define who we are.
So how do we own the center? This can be a hard question to answer. How one person manages to achieve this is different than others. I believe it comes down to controlling your mantles. We all have different mantles we take on. Some come and go while some are permanent. To name a few, some of mine include husband, father, student, and employee. Other people may have different mantles and therefore have to take on more or less responsibility as a result. With our ever-changing lives, it can be hard to establish control of them. This is especially true if we tend to stand left-of-center (to coin a phrase). This is where our training comes in. We are all very fortunate to have found To-Shin Do. This unique system of martial arts has set a clear path to realizing the ownership of our centers. We just have to be willing to embrace it and make those changes we know we should make, but are afraid to. It can also be frustrating to gauge our own progress. To that end, I offer the following: think back to the person you were when you started training and consider where you are now. Then think to where you want to be, and how you might get there. Quantifying the ownership of your center should be easier to accomplish through this reflection. Theory is easier than application in this regard, but no need to let that intimidate you. Based on what I have seen at the dojo, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

Madden and Berman Lament

Brett Favre's retirement has been a long time coming. Though he did not make it to the Super Bowl this past year, he did get to the NFC championship, which in my opinion, is pretty good. The timing allows him to go out on a high note. If he bowed out a couple years earlier, he would have left his fans with the foul taste of too many interceptions. I attribute this year's success to them having the youngest (on average) team in the league. So, congratulations Mr. Favre. Your induction into the Hall Of Fame is imminent (albeit not wholly deserved). Enjoy your retirement and your soon to be lucrative career in broadcasting.

Now that he is out of the picture, who will John Madden and Chris Berman rub it out to? Oh wait, I know. They might have to fight Howie Long for him, but I think there is enough room in Tom Brady's male box for their man parts. They will go from overrating one guy to overrating another.