Laura Irene Tregellas

My Grandmother on my Mother's side passed away this morning. She went peacefully in the world and peacefully in the thoughts of those who love her.
As a young child I knew of grandma Irene peripherally. She lived in Pratt, Kansas, which seemed thousands of miles away from the farm where I grew up. My earliest recollection of Grandma is a car pulling into the shady spot beneath a large tree that bordered the yard of our farm house and coming to a stop. I knew that my Grandma was in that car. I know that I had previously been in the presence of this woman, but later in life memory is what counts. I didn't until this point really remember her.
Grandma Irene remained to me somewhat of a mystery her entire life. Much like I'm sure all grandparents do. It's very difficult to try and understand the daily reality of generations far removed. When I was Ten years old Grandma had moved to Hays, KS, just 40 miles away. Around this time my mother started to attend weekly meetings on Wednesday nights in Hays as well (as a family aside, isn't it odd that Devin and I would end up living in a house within 50 ft of where Mom used to go for those meetings?). The logistics of farming, working and advanced education my siblings and I were unable to stay home with our busy father on those Wednesday nights. We would spend those evenings with Grandma Irene in Centennial Towers. Mother would drop us off with money to order Domino's Pizza. It was on those nights that I first began to know Irene as a person instead of a Pro-noun. We would eat our pizza and whatever cookies grandma managed to pull out of the odd places she seemed to stash her food (was a that a throw back to poverty?). We would then go for a walk around the grounds. Once I think I even tried to skateboard there, oh how that must have frightened her.
Sitting here today in north Hollywood in a rainy office I'm feeling grateful to have spent those nights with Grandma. She was very patient and gentle. The world she lived in was so simple, she seemed to appreciate everything. I know that life wasn't really like that for her always, but she didn't show it to us at all as far as I can recall. I just remember how she could see beauty in an ugly doll, and marvel at the worst channels on television. Watching us kids on those nights were a blessing, and in some ways penance, maybe she understood why my mother needed to go to those meetings, and what her role in that had been. Maybe she didn't know, I don't really care I guess. I'm just glad it worked out the way it did.

I learned the news of her passing this morning from my uncle Ronnie, in gmail chat. That may seem crass but it wasn't. I passed the news on to my sister Adrienne in the same way. Adrienne located mother, talked to her and then passed on the telephone number to me where she could be reached at her Sister's house. I called and spoke briefly with my Aunt Sharon, and then with my mother. All three of her children were serene. I found out from Mom that Devin didn't yet know, so I called him and called him till I reached him. I was worried that it might upset Devin more than anyone else, as he seems to have a deeper connection, but he is heartier than I sometimes give him credit for. As I think about Grandma this morning I think about my family, and how fortunate we all our to be in contact with one another, no matter what the context.
We all come from her, and we will all one day go to her.

Until I Find You

I was in Nashville, Tennesee last year. After the show I went to a Waffle House. I'm not proud of it, I was hungry. And I'm alone, I'm eating and I'm reading a book, right? Waitress walks over to me: " Hey, whatchoo readin' for?"

Isn't that the weirdest fucking question you've ever heard? Not what am I readING, but what am I reading *for*? Well, godammit, ya stumped me! Why do I read? Well... hmmm... I dunno... I guess I read for a lot of reasons, and the main one is so I don't end up being a fucking waffle waitress.

A bit of humor there, from Bill Hicks. I wasa thinking about books and what not, and I spent way to much time looking around for that little piece so I could qoute it here. So now my flow is slow and I gotta get it back while I remember what it was I wanted to type about.

There are a great many books in the world, far too many for anyone person to even make a decent dent in the stack. There are entire stores of books, and huge online warehouses and central shipping hubs, all stacked high with them. There are personal libraries and books on line and books on tape. There are book clubs and electronic books.

You can't listen to the radio or watch the TV without hearing about books. You can't sit darkly in a corner at a party without somone sauntering over and telling you about the book they are reading. People will travel around the whole country placing a bad book in hotel room night stands. Books Books Books.

Some weeks ago I was asked by a person how I pick what books I read. I admit that this question can strike a bit of terror in me, depending on who's asking it, because it can often be followed shortly there after by a gift, or god forbid an unsolicited loan of a sucker book. I'm going to call them that, because they come into your life and they suck from you your will to read. Ouch. Keep your sucker books to yourself folks.

What are sucker books? How can you define them?

You can't, that is why they are so hated and tricky. There is no formula or reason to it. You can't spot it. At one time in your life a book my be sent from heaven as God's direct dialogue to your brain, and that very same book at a different time is gods cement shoes sent to drown you in the ocean of Oprah's book club. Sometimes they are so sneaky you get half way through the thing before the true soul sucking I haven't picked up anything thicker than a periodical in a 3 weeks nature of the evil tomb presents itself to you.

So in this world of reading, a person must watch out for these things. A reader must be steadfast and vigilint in dealing with what they read. My first peice of reading advice is do not hesitate to just stop reading one book. Be a fickle lover of books. Make a date to the book prom and then take another book if you don't like the first one's jacket when you go to pick it up. It's not worth forcing. It's not worth finding yourself reaching for the stupid travel magazine that AAA auto club sends out just because your current book is being a boring prick fish. Put it out of your head and take something at random from your roommate.

I was thinking of this, because of that question; "how do you decide what books to read?"

My answer, in so many words. They just come to me. I rarely now by books, yet I have more of them laying around waiting to be read. They seem to multiply. People hand them to me, people leave them in things they lend you. People force them on me. My mother sends me them (to be fair I ask). Or I just find them.

Saturday night I was walking down the street and what should I see on the ground, top book on a stack of discarded books. a Pristine, un-spine cracked copy of John Irving's "Until I Find You". A book I have been wanting to read since it was out in hard back. A book I would have bought. But nope. There it was, just fricking laying there, hoping I'd notice. So now as I'm reading that, did I actually even decide to read that book, or did the book decide I'd read it?

Maybe the answer to the question "How do you decide what books to read?" is that I don't. The books make the decisions.

At any rate I'm glad they do. I love books. Books make me a better person.

wish you were here

Yet Another

The Faroes

Location and size
Situated in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic at 62°00’N, the Faroe Islands lie northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway. The archipelago is composed of 18 islands covering 1399 km2 (545.3 sq.miles) and is 113 km (70 miles) long and 75 km (47 miles) wide, roughly in the shape of an arrowhead. There are 1100 km (687 miles) of coastline and at no time is one more than 5 km (3 miles) away from the ocean. The highest mountain is 882 m (2883 ft) above sea level and the average height above sea level for the country is 300 m (982 ft).

Climate
The weather is maritime and quite changeable, from moments of brilliant sunshine to misty hill fog, to showers. The Gulf Stream encircling the islands tempers the climate. The harbours never freeze and the temperature in winter time is very moderate considering the high latitude. Snowfall occurs, but is shortlived. The average temperature ranges from 3°C in winter to 11°C in the summer. In sheltered areas, the temperature can be much higher, but the air is always fresh and clean no matter what the season.

Population
The population is 48,359 (1st January 2007). About 19,400 people live in the metropolitan area which comprises Tórshavn, Kirkjubøur, Velbastaður, Nólsoy, Hestur, Koltur, Hoyvík, Argir, Kaldbak, Kaldbaksbotnur, Kollafjørður, Signabøur and Oyrareingir, while about 4,700 people live in Klaksvík, the second largest town in the Faroe Islands

Sickipedia

Last night there was illness in the house where I reside. Amy was afflicted to an extreme degree with what we gather was some food borne illness. It was quite a rough night. I was convinced early this morning, sometime around 6 or 7, after a night of little to no sleep that I would be making a trip to the hospital. Things did finally let up, allowing her to keep down liquid. I called into work late then slept until 11. I am tired as I type.
Feeling none to with it, I have spent the day investigating remote places of the world on wikipedia. These are places I would love to one day visit. And a person of interest thrown in for good measure.

Tristan da Cunha

St. Helena
- A Doctor's story of living on St. Helena

Ascension Island
-Details of a family's visit to Ascension Island

Leendert Hasenbosch, (c.1695–probably end of 1725) was a Dutchman, an employee of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) who was set ashore as a castaway on uninhabited Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, as a punishment for sodomy. He wrote a diary until his death.

Falkland Islands

Punta Arenas

Keeping Up and On

Last month was a fine a month. Like all months it had it's moments where it wasn't fine. In fact it had some down-home-right-on awful moments. Moments that make you want to puke blood, then drown yourself in the puddle. The funny thing is I can't even tell you what moments those were, i'm just sure that they were there and lived through and then all but vaguely forgotten, leaving me with the audacity to say that last month was a fine month. There was much done. Early in the month we played a show at Cinespace which was filmed for the logo network. We played a very fine show and I hope against hope that it makes it onto the network. We could use the national exposure.
The month was also a delight in that I had our fine trip to Flagstaff and Albuquerque to look forward to, and then experience. That trip just made me feel good. I love taht part of the country. This is why I took so many pictures of nothing and sent them to my blog while driving. Makes me feel fine you know.
Staying with Amy's family was nice. They prepared delicious food and met us at the door with a beer. It feels good to be around a family sometimes. Certainly it feels good to be inside a house with good food while it's snowing outside.
Being in Flagstaff was certainly nice. I swear I could live in that town with a minimal amount of complaint. There is a nice feeling about being there. The show was a fun show to play. I felt appreciated on several occasions through the night. Probably none more than my head hitting the pillow in our wonderful room. A room where Humphrey Bogart once let his head hit the pillow. I really like Bogie, I enjoy watching his movies, they as well make me feel something that I could call fine.
From all of this happening there seems to be a re-newed push of work happeneing on our new album. This momentum is nice. It's difficult to stay focused in the world in which we currently reside. Let all months be fine ones.