Endless Expanse.mp3 – A quick ambient sound sketch in anticipation of upcoming exotic landscapes. Listen with headphones and get a vibe for where I’ll be.
All Jupiter 8 and some sounds of rubbing my hands together in front of a mic.
Endless Expanse
August 26th, 2010The Big Storm
August 24th, 2010 Hollow Tree |
 Lines Down in Alley |
 Crushed Car |
 Big Roots |
 Powerlines Across Truck |
I think I posted these pix on Facebook but never got around to fielding them here. Facebook is great and all but I consider it very disposable: anything posted there will probably be gone in 5 years. That’s great for snarky off-color jokes but lousy for posterity.
Anyway, the storm hit on the Thursday before we went to Baltimore. It knocked our phone and internet out till last Friday and made quite a mess of the whole neighborhood.
Dashes to Ashes
August 21st, 2010
Does having my dog’s ashes sitting in an urn by the TV make me feel like a crazy cat lady?
Ab-so-lutely.
But my mom wanted to spread his ashes over my dad’s grave and I couldn’t see dragging them around in a Ziploc bag…
And “Dashes to Ashes”, get it? Jack Russells dash around a lot? Okay, forget it. It wasn’t that good…
Enter the ARP 2600
August 19th, 2010
The day after my birthday my gift from me to me arrived. Something I’ve been wanting since my second year in college: An ARP 2600 synthesizer and it’s a ‘beaut. It was expensive but it’s about the best example of these units I’ve ever seen – a late model in fantastic condition with all the appropriate upgrades and a ginormous flight case (like big enough to hide bodies in). I just keep telling myself it’s and “investment” not an expenditure.
Before long I’ll post more details and pictures of the unit but for now here’s a few sounds I’ve sculpted on it. I want to use it primarily as a sound effects and lead-line instrument and it genuinely excels at both. Listen below to my impressions of raindrops, jungle birds, and synth flute. All just ARP 2600 with a little delay.
Baltimore and the Birthday
August 17th, 2010Pronto’s passing rather sucked all the air out of last week but it was pretty eventful despite his loss.
 Mike Hydrates |
 Jaw Muscles |
 All Smiles |
 Vacaros |
 Italian Sign |
 Giant Bellow’s Table |
 Brian Reclines |
 Divine’s Grave |
The weekend before we trekked up to Baltimore to watch the Italian Job projected on a wall in Little Italy with Tim, Brian, Zhan, Nick, and Mike. We then did the Gay Guerilla bar hop where all the homos swarm a random str8 bar (an Irish pub in this case), spent the night, and the next day made a very gay pilgrimage to Divine’s Grave before heading home. Pronto, incidentally, was left with my brother. His two little girls adored the dog and were forever asking me to bring him over so I felt good they got to spend a whole weekend with him before he was gone.
 Phone Booth at the Majestic |
 PX Lounge |
 Drink at PX Lounge |
Two days after his death it was my birthday and friends and family kept me well distracted. We dined at the Majestic in Old Town and then slipped over to the PX Lounge for a quick nightcap. All in all it was a very welcome celebration and diversion. I’ve got great friends.
The Pronto Pup: September 2nd, 1996 – August 10th, 2010
August 11th, 2010
Almost 14 years ago my mom directed me to her briefcase to retrieve her some papers. When I opened the lid I saw a small white puppy snoozing contently inside. My mom laughed and cried out “Happy Birthday!”. Eventually I named him Pronto and he was the best gift ever.
I’ve owned pets all my life and I’ve loved every one of them. But on rare occasions, if you’re very lucky, a pet arrives that is truly a kindred spirit. It seems an extension of yourself and becomes part of your identity. You think of yourself as that guy with that pet. Pronto was all these things as well as a constant companion. Someone to take walks with. Someone to snuggle up with for naps. Someone to travel with. In his prime he seemed to distill all the good things in life: energy, bravery, adventure, and a sunny disposition. Even as he aged and mellowed we just seemed to mesh so naturally together and I loved him dearly.
That’s what made yesterday such a very, very hard day.
Nine days ago Pronto had been fine. We’d been out to see Mike and Scott and he’d been barking and playing with their four big labs without a care in the world. By Tuesday he was feeling blue and beginning to vomit. He stayed the weekend with my brother who’s two little girls love him, and then on Monday he looked so bad I took him to the vet. By the time I got back from work on Tuesday the diagnosis was grim. A massive tumor in his chest was displacing his heart and blocking his esophagus. He was concurrently suffering kidney failure that could not be treated. The doctor was shocked that he’d been so active with such a large tumor. A dark decision had to be made. By 6:30 that night I was cradling him in my arms as the doctor administered the pink injection. I’ll always remember feeling his heart stop. Seeing his eyes go dim but never close. Tears and irreplaceable loss.
Today these black thought press heavily on my spirit but I know they’ll fade. It may take time but they’ll yield to all the good memories. His pertinacious attacks on halloween toys. His endless annoyance all the men I’ve dated. His refusal to sleep anywhere but in the bed. All the funny stories, warm recollections, and striking photographs that mark a great little life. A grand little life. And one I was lucky enough to share.
The Burn is Bearing Down
August 3rd, 2010
The considerable preparations for Burning Man are in full swing. Goggles? check. EL wire? Check? Fur lining on my steampunk pith helmet? Hmm, pending on that one.
Steampunk Pith Helmet
It’s gonna be a busy few weeks.
10 Years and Counting
July 27th, 2010
Last Wednesday was the tenth anniversary of Will and I moving in together – as close a thing we have to an anniversary. We celebrated it by dinning at the obiligatory French resturant and I gifted him choclate while he gifted me orange roses (pictured above). It was nice but we’d just eaten a big expensive meal with some freinds on Monday so it felt a bit done already.
Ten years is a good haul and it’s hardly feels that long. The years wind by at a surprising pace so it seems wise to always keep good company always close at hand – and with Will I’m convinced I have.
Shower Coming Along
July 23rd, 2010
The development of my portable misting shower is coming along nicely. We still have a bunch of things to work out but I hope to have a functioning prototype ready for the Burning Man trip in a month. It’s actually a bit bigger than I’d imagined (which is why I included my foot for reference) and heavier than I’d like, but I can work on those things in a future iteration.
Burning Bargains in the Burning Heat for the Burning Man (trip)
July 20th, 2010
Mindy Slashes Prices!!!
Preparing for the yard sale I was appalled at how much crap I still have to get rid of. At the yard sale I was even more appalled at peoples eagerness to buy my crap. Really? You actually want those ratty old shoes? Okay…
Saturday Mindy held a yard sale to raise funds for our upcoming Burning Man trip and to clear out our respective trash-impacted garages. It was blazingly hot but that didn’t stop a parade of bargain hunters from picking thru our wares and carting off the vast majority of them. We sold some choice items but I place this studded, pink 80s jumpsuit as the prize purchase. Bananarama-licious!
