Solitary Confinement

Angela left early Saturday to visit her grandmother in San Diego. I stayed behind since I know the two of them really enjoy spending time alone together. In my adult life I have not spent much time alone. I find that curious because I've always been a person that takes to solitary time very easily.
As a young boy I spent most of my time alone. I would wander off into the wilds of our family farm and spend my day pretending to be an Indian. I passed many hours this way and I believe it helped create in me an independent imagination. And once a person develops that being alone can be pretty joyful.
Once I started recording music my love of time spent in the company of only myself really flourished. I enjoy getting feedback from others as soon as a song is finished, but I really don't mind not speaking to some one for hours and hours while I create it. I spent so many weekend and evening hours alone in my mid twenties and I enjoyed everyone of them.
This weekend was a return to form for me. Angela left in the afternoon and I took up the task of doing all my chores in 3 hours. I finished my list of things to be accomplished for the weekend as fast as I could and I then journeyed to the gym to put in an hour and clear my mind. Returning I showered and went to the store to stock up on food for my time alone. I finished all of this around 8pm on Saturday and then I got busy working.

I spent the first 2 hours working on a bass line for my brother's song "Sleepy Town". I love this song and when I started mixing it I had a revelation early that drastically changed the way the song sounds. I got it to about 75% done and I have just been struggling to put it all together from that point and finish the last 25%. At the end of the two hours I was disappointed and left with the feeling that nothing I did was even usable. I decided to close that project and move on for the night.

Next up I wanted to finish a song I started a while back with no project in mind. It was always an odd song but I loved something about it. It's called "Taming the Itch". Last week I decided it was close enough to being finished that I could just finish the lyrics, sing them, mix it and call it good for inclusion on "Albino Elephant". I had assumed I would do just this, but when I started working I decided I could not live with the drum track. I started to reprogram them and suddenly the song came a live. I worked on it for about 3 hours and in the end mixed it down an mp3 file and added it to my phone. I then had a smoke and went for a late night walk to listen. Hearing the rough version through headphones got me super excited. I decided that this song deserved a better fate than "albino Elephant", not to disparage that project but I have been wavering on what that album is. With the surprise turn out of this tune I decided to let the past stand as it was and not include any new spruced up tracks on that collection. I just want to document that era as it was. In the future I plan to re-purpose parts of it but I think "Taming the Itch" made up my mind about what the last S no S album will be.

Due to the time change and the excitement "Taming the Itch" cause I couldn't sleep for a while. I started to think about a way to make "Turbo Sunshine" a viable live band and a plan was coming together. I finally succumbed around 5am.

I woke up refreshed an energized at 11:00 am. I made a bit of breakfast and tried to watch "Engineering an Empire" off the dvr. I made it about 20 minutes before I was up and at the computer. I started sifting through half finished projects looking for my next project. I settled on a song called "Far Out With You". I loaded the porject and then changed into running clothes. I smoked a bit of medicine to allow for a proper run and headed off to Griffith Park. It was a fabulous day in griffith park. All told I put in two hours and probably ran a bit over 10 miles. It was wonderful.

I returned to the apartment and showered. I then really hunkered down. I worked for around 4 hours on "Far it with You". It was a bit frustrating to put this one together and in the end I didn't have the instant feeling of satisfaction.

I then wanted to throw down a few vocal ideas to a track Devin performed the music to. It's called "Hey Citizen" and I just love it. I recorded the small bits I had and mixed it down as well.

I've been kicking around a song called "Who killed love?" for a while and decided that it sounded very much like what I have been hearing in my head as the sound for Turbo Sunshine. While walking around listening to "Taming the Itch" I realized that in some ways it sounded a lot like Nine Inch Nails. It got me thinking that 90's psuedo industrial music is such a large part of my musical make up. Since I am not 15 anymore I find the lyrics in that music I use to love to be cringe inducing. I have started to see that there might be a large use of the sonic qualities of that music I once loved in the music I now want to create. Perhaps something like The Dandy Warhols meets Nine Inch Nails. God. I can't believe I jsut typed that. Disregard all of this. That statement means nothing.
I sang the second verse of Who Killed Love? and went out to get beer. I didn't want to lie in bed awake half the night again, so I thought some beer might do me good.

I returned from the store and had a few beers while I loaded the new songs onto my phone. I then lit a cigar and went for a walk. I was loving the new songs and it was only 9 o'clock. I decided I oculd swing one more before the time to sleep was dire. I found a piece of music I had written nothing to yet and just started to sing whatever came to mind. In about half an hour I had the first two verses and the chorus to a new song called "What you would have me do". At this point I had polished my sixer and decided I should have another walk and listen.

It was a great walk. I ended feeling pleased with myself. I came home and tried to watch TV. TV wasn't working for me. I put my headphoens back on and played each song a couple more times.

Finally I went to bed. I was missing Angela as I laid down but I knew she was having a ncie time and that she would return soon enough.

Cold Wet Paint

I meant to blog about having cold wet paint dumped on me for hours this weekend but my bother beat me to it and with much more detail and accuracy than I could muster from five days away. Don't let that stop you from reading it though. It was hard and uncomfortable at times, but it was so much fun. I went home on saturday and sunday night and felt proud of myself and everyone involved. I'm excited to see the result and to remember for a long time to come that someone once had the idea of dumping paint on me all day, and I agreed to do it.

I'm feeling physically pretty good these days. I have been stretching before exercising for the first time in my life and lifting high reps of less weight. People always told me that a person should stretch before exertion but I never really bought it. I get the benefits now, it actually feels nicer all the time to be a bit more limber. I can touch my toes with a locked leg now, I couldn't even do that in high school while running cross country.
I went for a nice 5 mile run through the streets of Atwater Village and Glendale last night. The sky over Griffith park looked amazing and I managed to jay walk and catch stoplights in just the right manner so that I never once had to stop. I dodged cars and dogs and peoples and kept moving. Every time I started to feel tired I remember that my sister is going to run a half marathon in under two hours, and that to do that she must run nine minute miles instead of ten minute miles. I would just say that to myself when I wanted to rest while running: "Nine Minute Miles". I was probably running closer to seven minute miles last night, but nine sounded better.
I finished with a stupid sprint kick up Edenhurst to Veselich. I like to run in the park or at night because I like to finish big and it's a bit embarrassing in the middle of the sun light to be grinding full bore up a residential street. I would make fun of me if I saw myself doing that. It feels good though, and to finish a run without it is sort of like sex with no orgasm.
As I walked back to the apartment after the run trying to catch my breath I asked myself how I ever stopped running for such a long period of time. I didn't answer because of course I remember, still it seems so stupid now.

I have not been writing much lately. I need to lock myself in a room and revise a bunch of the shit I've spewed out but it's just not happening. I want to be that type of person, I respect that kind of focused energy but at heart there is something in me that lacks a measure of discipline. Why can't I just do it perfect the first time?

Less Productive than Predicted

I wasn't as on the ball this weekend than I predicted. Friday night Angela and I dropped in on Devin and Dylan so that I could grab my guitar which I plan to use for the Invisible Material video and also a keyboard which I plan to use to teach Angela to play for Turbo Sunshine. It was a nice evening, at the end we dropped them off in the rain so they could attend "Puppetry of the Penis".
Saturday I slept till just after 10am and rolled out of bed to have coffee and relax before getting to work. Angela and I then went to our buildings gym and worked out.
I then settled in to work on some mixes. I feel pretty confident that I finished Alien Nation. I burned it down to a Wav and used the new google documents feature to send it to Devin and Ronnie. Ronnie seemed pleased with the mix but Devin listened only on headphones and had some doubts. I next finished Invisible Material's cover of "My Girl Wants to Party all the Time". I was happy with the results so I dispersed it amongst Ronnie and my fellow band members.
Angela and I then went to Joans fabrics and for a drive around Glendale/Burbank. I got a text from Devin then which told me about a show they were going to in Venice. An all gay cover band called "the gayties" were doing a set at the Rooster Fish. Angela and I decided to head over to Devin and Dylans and go with them. The set was great, they even played a Hoodoo Gurus song!
Somewhere between getting to the Rooster Fish and getting back to Devin and Dylans my weekends productivity became derailed. We partied perhaps a bit too hard and ended up staying at Devin and Dylans instead of risking the drive home. Sunday was then spent in lazy recovery.

On the drive to the Rooster Fish I did have a proud moment. Devin burned down the two new songs I completed that afternoon to a cd and blared them in the car for all to hear. It sounded great and Devin agreed. Everyone was very proud of Devin's song. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the album.

Weekend Overdrive

I've got projects. I'm all talk and no action. I have become a project starter and not a project finisher. I'm going to change all of that this weekend. Here is my extremely ambitious list of things I want to finish this weekend. They will require focus and computer time.

1. Clean our ugly oven. Mandatory
2. Do Laundry. Mandatory
3. Finish Mixing/Mastering Alien Nation Mandatory
4. Finish Mixing/Mastering Invis Matter's My Girl Wants to Party All the Time Mandatory
5. Rehearse for Invisible Material Video Shoot Mandatory
6. Finish Reprogramming drums for Sleepy Town
7. Finish Mixing and Mastering on I like the Way
8. Re-write First Chapter of More Possible Than Perfect
9. Exercise Mandatory
10. Breath Optional

I'm excited you see, I have purpose and I need to get to it. Finishing things is good business.

Citizen Turbo

I have too many irons and not enough fire, or perhaps just not enough time.

I really need to help Devin finish his solo album and I need to finish the S no S project. I am promising myself that I'm going to do both of these things before I get to deeply involved in...

The two new tracks that Devin sent me last night which will become Turbo Sunshine songs!! Turbo Sunshine will be taking over where S no S left off but with the hopes that it is always a collaborative project between myself and at least one other person, hopefully many people. It is the project that I plan to put the most of myself into and something that I really would like to develop into a project that plays live, hopefully sharing stages and possibly musicians with Devin's solo project when that is up and running. I want to take the best parts of S no S, the unpredictablility and energy and further those in more melodic tunes.
Most importantly I want it to be very collaborative and in the spirit the first thing which I have completed which will wear the Turbo Sunshine name is a remix of my friend Bradley's song, "Rock Hard". Bradley puts out music under the name Swivek, and you can check him out here.
Here is the remix:
Rock Hard(Turbo Sunshine Mix) by Turbo Sunshine
Notice the fantastic backing vocals? This is the first recording which Angela has ever sang on. So cute! I look forward to making use of that voice in many projects to come.

The two songs Devin sent over last night were working titled:

"Silver Grey" I like the title and immmediatly started writing lyrics using the two colors. I'm having second thoughts about the approach today, but it was fun to even record a small bit of vocals to it last night. I did lay down a nice clean guitar line around midnight last night, which I think could evolve to bcome something absoloutely wonderful. Once I added the guitar line I realized that it has a certain "ladyslipper" quality to it, I like.

"WNN0438" is an upbeat, synthy number. WNN0438 were the call letters to my family's CB radios which we used on the farm. I started thinking about CB radios and that I didn't know until just a few days ago that C.B. stands for Citizen's Band, and that led me to thinking about the actual fact that all radio and tv bandwidth is publicly owned, which considering how it's so often used as a weapon to bad ends against us seems sort of screwed up. With that thinking I came up with a line for the chorus:
"Hey Citizen, Don't you own the airwaves".
I started working up a talking heads "fear of music" era gutar line for the song that seems like it will compliment all the synths well. This morning I was listening here at work and I heard the beginnings of a bass line.

Turbo Sunshine is going to be a lot of fun for me. Collaborating with Devin is one of my favorite things in the world, I'm very lucky.

In a State of Repair

Working away. Getting very excited about some things in life.

Planning a weekend getaway to Mexico in April.

The Oscars are in full swing so work is very busy.

I did my taxes over the weekend and once the return arrives I should be able to purchase the Zoom recorder that I've been lusting over. The applications of this device are many and far reaching. It will open up many interesting opportunities to me. I'm interested in doing a bit of extreme recording in Griffith Park. I'm interested in doing some Invisible Material recordings with it. I'm interested in doing a project with Angela and another friend with it. I also plan to do a lot of my own work on it.


Invisible Material has been hard at work planning a video shoot. This video will have the highest production values of any video of which I have been a part of. Everyone has been working very hard to make the video possible. Ben has actually taken it upon himself to build an upright bass from scratch and he's coming along nicely. What he has finished so far is pictured above. He chose to build a new bass because he does not wish to have paint splattered all over his real one, something I can't say the directors do not wish to do to us band members. It will be very messy. Our biggest snag this far is in the location, there just are not a lot of cheap places where you can throw that paint all over.
State of the bass update:


This weekend we went to a really great loft party downtown with Tiger. It was oddly held in a loft I had been to 6 years before when SG played a friends party. The place hadn't really changed much. We stayed pretty late into the night and had a total blast. Kool Kieth and Lady Tigra played.

Sunday we went to the Drive-in with Devin, Dylan, Rebbecca and Loren and saw Valentines Day and The Blindside. It was a beautiful night, we watched part of the first movie in lawn chairs outside of the cars. It was D&D's first trip to this drive in and I'm thrilled that they both seemed to love it.

Saturday Afternoon in the "flea market"( a section of our parking garage where the building and it's residents place items they no longer want or that those who have moved out left behind) we found three aloe vera plants. They were in serious need of some TLC so we moved them up to our rescue plant sanctuary, also known as the patio.

Our patio is the last part of Atwater Village home to be finished. We are working away and in march hope to add astro turf and a fountain. So as far as birthday gifts go anything that might be spent at Lowe's could come very much in handy. Hint hint hint. :)

With out further ado, our new rescue plants, alvin, simon and theodore:

Cat fancy accounting

Rain!

Dead Writers

JD Salinger died. I was thinking about him two days before he died, I thought it was about time that he would die, and that he might then finally share some of the things he's been writing all these years with the rest of us.

Howard Zinn Died too. Hoagie told me to read his work "A People's History Of The United States" a couple of years ago. I meant to but I haven't yet. Today on my friend Bett's blog she posted a link to the entire work online. Friends, family and secret admirer's I invite you to read it with me, for free!.

Exciting! We can all discuss as we go along.

Making Music

I've been lusting after a piece of gear lately. It's a Zoom R16. I very small, plastic device that can record up to 16 tracks of digital audio. I have a device that can do this already, but it is now nearly 10 years old. That device is the fostex VF16, and it has served me well and I have loved it at every step. This week I took that device into the bedroom of our apartment and have started building a new version of an old song the way I used to, track by track with me, an instrument and a microphone. It's been a very revealing experience. I and that when I'm not sitting in front of a computer, watching a wave form write onto my computer screen as I record that I lose my self much easier. Rather than watching the computer display scroll by with the large measure counter, always showing me where I am in the song, I am in the song playing it. It has become far to easy for me to go through a new song section by section, often looping 8 measures at a time and just playing it until I get it right once. This is embarrassing to my old self. I always chose to play each instrument, all the way through the song until I could play it right, because I told myself that each part I learned to play right made me a better musician. Somewhere along the way I stopped focusing on that. There is no justification for it, I never got the level where I felt I had achieved so much as a musician that I should give myself time off for good behavior. I came across a quote yesterday which I loved. "Amateurs practice till the can get it right, professionals practice until they can't get it wrong." Oh so true.
Back to the gear lust. The zoom device updates my current multitracker, and it costs half as much as what I paid for the device I currently have 10 years ago. It uses removable, silent memory cards where the old one uses a noisy hard drive. My old device could only record at 16 bits, where the zoom will give me 24. The zoom is absurdly portable, but perhaps a bit flimsy and can function off battery power, where the fostex cannot. The greatest update that I will gain if I am able to purchase the new device is that I can easily transfer files back and forth between my computer's Digital Audio Workstation and the Multitracker, something that I can not currently do.
Ultimately this new device won't fix all my problems but I have realized something this week. In recording songs the most important part of the chain has nothing to do with the gear you choose to capture it on, it simply comes down to getting a great performance. There are thousands of examples of songs recorded in less than stellar fashion that endure the test of time because they are well written, superbly performed pieces and they communicate something deeper to the listener. There are many songs being made today that sound absoulutely amazing when you first hear them, because they are completely perfect in every which way, and all the sounds jump out of the speaker and bash your inner ear, but I believe many of these songs rely too much on modern shock and awe production and once the initial vibration dies down all that we will be left with is an absurd ringing in our ears.

I started recording music cause it's fun and I liked to write songs. This week as I simplified the recording process all the fun I used to have started flooding back to me again. Within the next month I hope to update to the Zoom r16 and continue the positive flow of vibration.

Stranger Strange

I was listening to some of the tracks from Albino Elephant the other day and I decided I wasn't at all happy with a couple of aspects of a song called "Stranger Strange". The version I have was recorded live and in a hurry since it was originally a New Years Day present for my friend Courtney. There was a tempo stutter in the beginning which undermined the entire song. Since I had always really liked the potential for the song, and it's a fairly simple number I decided I should take a stab at re-recording it for Albino Elephant.
Monday night after Angela fell asleep on the couch I did a guide drum track in cubase and sped the tempo way up. I dumped the drum track to the 16 track and moved the machine and a microphone into the pink bedroom. I scratched out a rough guitar track and vocal and even experimented with the mandolin some.
It felt nice to be working on something that I was completely in control of. I really like the idea of working on my computer in cubase, but more often then not it's an exercise in complete frustration. I love technology and computer based recording has come a long way and it will only go further, but I need my shit to work. To be working on a song and have my flow come to a screeching halt because my computer takes a dive is heart breaking.
I have ideas on how to improve my set up, but as always they cost money. For now I have decided I'm just going to keep things simple and forget about the world and expectations. I'm happy when I'm recording music. I don't need any one's approval and I don't need to reinvent the wheel. I don't have to be working on an astounding song that would blow up any one's skirt in a night club. I just need to communicate with myself in that way, and for now it's happening in a pink bedroom, in the late evening, with a few instruments and a microphone.

Stranger Strange by S no S

The version above is the first version of this song. I recorded it in the days before New years day 2001. It was essentially a song taking poetic liberty with adventures which I had with my friend Courtney. As I started re-recording I found I didn't really like all the lyrics that much and I started to rewrite them as I went along. Stranger Strange has now become a song about the cross roads. In the coming days I hope to have the new version done enough to post here.

ps. this is my 700th blog post here.

why don't you ever get to sing?

Easily More Than You'd Ever Need

Lushing (Ronnie and Brandon barely live) by S no S

Hello and good morning. I'm feeling good today, I had been a bit frustrated the past couple days. I hadn't felt like I was getting anything done on any of my projects and work has been a big pain in my ass. I'm better today though and I feel like I can keep my momentum going through the weekend and perhaps make meaningful progress on things. I realize that it's childish to let my own problems add up on me while there are massive calamities and catastrophes going on all over the world. I feel for Haiti and those effected by war, unemployment and hunger.

I'm posting a track my uncle and I once recorded along with this blog because I'm trying to spark myself to finish the S no S "Ends" project. Feedback helps my motivation, so by all means comment. The track above was recorded in Big Sound Studios in Hays, KS. I was playing guitar and singing and Ronnie joined me on the mandolin. I had originally thought it would be part of the Albino Elephant album but now I have started to majorly revamp that disc and I'm not so sure it fits. It will be included in the final release most likely as some form of a bonus.
When I get down on myself I need to remember how much work I've already put into this project, and that finishing it would make me feel very accomplished. There is a lot to be done, including finishing the companion book, and then re-writing it. It can and will be done. To be able to make it real and feel like it is safe and that the work I've done will be safe and accessible is a feeling worth pursuit.

Last night Angela, Chris and I went to the artwalk downtown. Since the last time we went the Artwalk has now really taken off. It was incredibly crowded last night and there was a lot more going on. I'm proud of that event and the people who worked so tirelessly to make it happen. They have really accomplished something.

Of New and Same Things

Rain again; this lovely atmosphere. My fingers are cold in here as always. I'm not in the best mood, but I have no justification for unhappiness. I went for a swim last night. Nothing makes me feel less coordinated than swimming. Swimming for me is prolonged sinking.
I miss playing my guitar loud. I would like to weld metal.

Out of the Ordinary and Into Routine

Last night I felt great when I got off work. I had a long bad day, I was tired and a bit hungover all day long. Once I found myself in my car, speeding home on the freeway I felt great and alive all out of the abyss. When I arrived home Chris and Angela were sprawled out on the couch, dead from a day of working out, swimming and then shattering both of their diets. I refused to join them in their sloth and gluttony, for the moment. I changed and went to the Gym where I worked my chest, shoulders and abs. I came home and showered and asked the two couch slugs if they wanted to go for a drive. We decided to go up to the observatory and then down to the pantry to eat. The observatory is closed on Mondays, but you can still wander around the grounds and enjoy the stunning, twinkling view of Los Angeles. I put fifty cents into on of the telescopes and was proud of myself for being able to find the theater across from Chris' house, and Angela was able to even read the posters of what movies were playing, several miles away. We watched the city twinkle for a spell and then moved on.
We drove down Normandie to Wilshere, a route that is only fun in the evening as Normandie can bottle neck is some idiot wants to turn left down streets a person has no business visiting. We took Wilshire downtown and then did the backwards one way dance till we parked across from the Pantry.
The Pantry is LA Tradition, there are no locks on the door and it has never been closed since 1924. The freeway forced it to move in 1950, and when they moved they served lunch at the old location and dinner at the new, and they've been going ever since. During the 1994 earthquake when power was out, they cooked by candle light to cover breakfast. We had a random sampling of dishes between the three of us, and even I broke my diet. It was fun though, and after my last two body busting workouts I feel fine about my dalliance with the darker forces in food. My favorite of all the dishes was the french toast.
After dinner we drove to Pershing square and walked around. We watched the Los Angeles ice skaters and had a bit of a chuckle at their expense. Pershing Square is no longer the den of Hustler's from "City of Night". It's secure and reasonably clean. Downtown Los Angeles has come such a long way since I first moved here. It's nice to not feel in peril all of the time while moving about it, but I miss something of the grit of a dead city.
We recently revisited the movie 500 Days of Summer, and Angela had been curious where the main guy character's favorite spot in the city was. We walked up Olive to 4th, where the park benches they sit on in the movie are located. The park was locked, so we admired the view of the view they admired, and finally back to the car we went.
We drove Broadway through Chinatown, and we all remarked how much we like Chinatown and how we need to spend more time there. Broadway lead us across one of my favorite bridges, taking us out of Downtown, into Mission Junction where I made a left on Pasadena. From Pasadena another left took us to San Fernando and into Cypress Park, and Glassell Park, and Finally back into Atwater Village. I drove us around the quiet streets of Atwater for a spell, and then home. Very active and out of the ordinary for us on a Monday night, I settled down then on the couch feeling relieved and relaxed, soon finding myself sleepy and into the bed.

Normalcy is now back on me. I arrived at work at the same time as one of the Technicians. He had brought with him a friend of his who will be helping us out for the next couple months. It's show season and we are once again a flurry of activity. I checked my morning email and generated an invoice. I had three full cups of coffee and a handful of pistachios for breakfast.
I assigned all the technicians to their various tasks and sent them away. I settled in and began my round of news and blog readings. I chatted some with Devin to let him know I was disappointed not to read anything new from his blog this morning. I realized I was a being a bit unfair since I had not blogged today myself.

Tonight I will swim, hopefully it won't leave me feeling as sore as it did last week, but if it does that is fine too.

The Love of a Park

Weekend mornings when I don't have to work Angela likes me to sleep in. She will flat out insist that I not get up before Nine. Angela herself gets up between Five and Seven, assuming that we didn't party too much. These weekend days, like most days begin with her familar exclaimed question: "coffees?". This is generally the first thing I am aware of in the morning. It's a plea, it's short hand, it means "Brandon you know that I am unable to function in the morning at all without the that most wonderful of beverages coffee. I would very much like to have a cup so that I may get out of bed and clean and organize things the way that I like them. I have many projects to start and I'm so close to being able to do them, yet my eyes are welded shut by the residule force of sleep. If you will kindly get up and make a pot of coffee, I will get up and get to work while you sleep." I have come to like this morning call for "coffees". I am a blessed sleeper, I can and do fall into sleep very easily. I know how many people struggle with this, and I don't wish to rub their noses in it but I am just made this way. So I make the "coffees" and I go right back to bed and fall quickly back into a deep satisfying sleep, and I'll continue in this slumber for anywhere from one to five hours. Occasionally Angela will take a running leap and fly onto the bed to make sure I'm still breathing and because it makes me giggle. This is the way that it goes on weekend mornings around our apartment.
Yesterday was one of these mornings. Angela was up before Six, and I finally got out of bed around Ten. I ventured out to the living room, said hello to the kitties and poured myself a cup of coffee. It was a beautiful morning and I quickly decided that I wanted to go for a nice long run in griffith park. I conferred with Angela about our plans for the day and the chores to be done. I had a small lists of domestic tasks and we had plans for the evening. I was pleased and began to dress in my shorts and a T-shirt. I filled a large bottle of water and enjoyed a bit of maryjane and I was off.
I leave the car in the parking area at Mineral Wells. I have been making an effort to stretch before working out. I walked into a large clearing of green grass, the sun was shining on me. Each ray of the sun that touched my skin sent a relaxing wave through my being. I started to slow my breathing and stretch.
I started slowly up the steep hill that leads towards Mount Lee. My legs burned a bit but not bad. After Two Hundred meters the incline tapers off some and I started to increase my pace. My mouth was dry so I decided that I would change routes and run around the old Toyon Canyon landfill and stop at the only freshwater drinking fountain in the upper parts of the park. This Drinking fountain is a favorite discovery of mine, I'm sure there are not many who know where it is.
After a big drink and wetting my head I was off, up the back of Mt. Hollywood and over it's peak to a the look out point on the southern end. A stunning view of los angeles. Stopped there to catch my breath and acknowledge that I am now completely in love with this gift from Griffith Jenkins Griffith to all of us. A park of this natural beauty doesn't make up for shooting your wife in the face and only serving two years, but it's a nice attempt at atonement, and I appreciate it all the same.
The run down from the peak is a gift from gravity which I fought all the way up. Letting my body fall and my feet keep me upright. Amazing feeling.

Rewriting is Trying

I'm feeling amazing today. The combination of exercise and Friday are treating me nicely. I don't mean to be smiley and ridiculous, I'm sure it sounds annoying some folks, but I'm not going to feel fantastic and not blog about it, if only to counterpoint all the times I've been tired and blogged about it. Last night I ran a solid 5 miles, at nice pace through the darkened streets of Atwater Village. I was a bit stoned and I had my headphones on, listening to the album "Prick", by "Prick. When I walked in the door Angela looked at me and said, "My god, you really do love to run. You always look so spry when you walk in afterwards." I nearly blushed but it's true. There is something primal about running and pushing my body, it connects me to myself.

After a nice dinner and a couple of episodes in my on going revisiting of the 6ft under series, I sat down and began to actually revise and rewrite the "More Possible Than Perfect" manuscript. It was slow going, I ended up rewriting several sentences and paragraphs on the back of the typed sheets. I enjoyed the work, but I recognize that re-writing is going to be a labor for me. This type of work is not something that comes easily to me. I have always believed in the initial burst in all creative endeavor, musically my entire goal has been to become proficient enough to pull of something close to finished the first time out, thus eliminating the drudgery. I realize now though that there is benefit form a look back and rewrite and re-visit. I may need to really structure a period of time for re-writing, because I don't trust myself to do it any other way.

Speaking of Prick, I really must blog about that album and "concentration" by Machines of Loving Grace.

Fit

I am taking number one on my list of of things to do in 2010 pretty serious, and since the year is already seven days old I think it's safe to say that I will continue. I am always surprised by the way in which my mind and it's governing desires function, it's so easy for me to eat an absurd amount of cake or chocolate, but once I have decided that I want to feel better and look nice it's like a gate slams down between my hand and my mouth. This last until one thing worms it's way in, and then it's very tough to regain my steely composure. For now though I feel great. I am taking very good care of my mind and body. I've decided that a variation in exercise is the theme for my new fitness. To practice this I swam for close to an hour last night; as a result I am extremely sore today in odd places. Tonight I will go for a long run and miss the park and the sunshine.

I was recently given a small supply of medical marijuana. There are two types of mary jane, sativa and indica. Indica is a body high and very relaxing. Sativa is more of a mental high, and rather stimulating. It's been a recent development that in buying weed you can be sure of what you are getting, thanks the dispensaries that now dot this beloved city of mine. In the past I had noticed that different strains would lead me to do different things, in some cases I liked to go for a run or clean out the drawers in the kitchen, but in others I simply preferred to sit on the couch, watch rodeos and cheer for the bull. I have gotten off track, perhaps I smoked some already today. So the strain I was given is 80% Sativa, 20% Indica, and it is oh so nice. I have been indulging in it regularly and I feel pretty good for it. I am getting chores and tasks completed around the house and generally feeling lighter of spirit. Smoke it if you have it and treat yourself well.

Ten in Twenty Ten

1. Be Healthy - I want to eat food that at least lives up to my standard of integrity, and I would prefer to only eat because I am hungry. I want to stretch before I exercise, and create a body that feels good to live in. I want to sleep more and party less.

2. Help bring about my most anticipated album of 2010 - Devin is working on a solo album and I can already tell it will be one of my top 5 favorite records of all time. All the elements are there. Any effort I put into helping Devin complete the album will bring about it's release that much faster.

3. Carefully revise some of the things I have written, and finish writing "More Possible Than Perfect", "Up and Back", And "Tequila Summer".

4. Put Effort into "The Ivy Twines"

5. Don't talk about things that are none of my business, or at least don't talk about them so much.

6. Learn More about Computers

7. Visit my Sister's new home and puppy.

8. Compose and Record a Song for Angela to Burlesque to.

9. Entice people to collaborate over the Internet on music - This includes but is not limited to you Ronnie!

10. Spend money at my local farmer's market.

A Look back at 2009

Late in January of last year I made a list of things to do. I also swore I would get a new tooth brush every month.

I did not use twelve tooth brushes last year. I would guess I used six.

Here was the list from last year:

Without further ado, things to be done in 2009

1. Move to a new apartment with Angela and only Angela
2. set up all my guitars and get them in tip top shape
3. Record a Solo Album
4. Continue to run and exercise regularly
5. Start a fun dance project
6. Learn more about chess and play with other people
7. Stay in book club
8. Explore more of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas
9. Finish my novella
10. Forgive more and love better.


1. Yes! I moved to a new apartment with Angela and Only Angela, and way sooner than I thought I would. Within a month after writing that post we were settling into our new home. Our apartment is fantastic to me. It is the first place that has felt like a home that I have lived in since leaving my parents house. Most of my other places resembled den's of ill repute.

2. I did not set up all of my guitars. I did however get them a brand new stand and I have them all lined up and out of their cases. Some could use a set up and a tweak, I hope to get to it this year. One day I'd love to pay someone to do this task for me.

3. Record a solo album. Well, i have recorded bits and pieces here and I'm assembling a large S no S project which will include a new album. I suppose I didn't see this goal all the way through yet, but I made positive steps.

4. I suppose I did exercise regularly last year, but towards the end of the year I let up a bit more than I would have liked. In the coming year I will improve. I don't believe I will even list this on my new list, but I may modify a fitness goal. Exercise is once again a way of life for me and I feel confident that it will continue to be so.

5. I didn't exactly start a fun dance project. There are irons in the fire though and we will see where they lead.

6. I learned more about Chess and taught Angela to play. I taught her to well though and she beat me a couple of times.

7. Stay in book club. I am reading "A Fraction of the Whole" for book club this month.

8. I have explored more of Los Angeles, and I will continue to explore.

9. Finish my Novella. I have not finished my novella. I worked on it more.

10. I have forgiven and loved but who's to say it was more and better, only the best I could do at the time I was doing it.