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Monday, March 13th, 2006
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1:03 am
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So I'm home.
And by home, I mean I've come back to my parents' house in Victoria, for what I had meant to be two days to sleep, relax and recover. It's been almost a week now, and I'm only now starting to feel mostly human again. On one hand, it turns out that a month on tour took more out of me than I realised, but on the other hand this has been coming for a very long time.
Just about everything I've done for the last two and a half years has been about work, about turning live music from just something I love, into a career doing something I love. I've chosen to put my life in the back seat while I scramble up the hill towards the point where I'm offered international touring work - and it's worked, and I've loved the trip, but now that I have a few minutes to breathe again, it's a serious case of life out of balance. I'd really like to start to change that, even just a little at a time.
There are a lot of people in my life who've had less of a friend in me than they've deserved lately, if only because I've been so distracted with this little obsession. And I'd really like to start to change that, too.
In the meantime, let me pass along today's bit of new music, from a band called The New Amsterdams.
Turn Out The Light.
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| Thursday, February 2nd, 2006
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1:05 pm
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| Friday, January 20th, 2006
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7:58 pm
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A quick follow-up to Monday's post:
Having suffered a heart attack back in September, Allen had asked prison authorities to let him die if he went into cardiac arrest before his execution, a request prison officials said they would not honor.
"At no point are we not going to value the sanctity of life," said prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon. "We would resuscitate him," then execute him.
...right.
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| Wednesday, January 18th, 2006
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3:37 pm - CD release!
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Those of you who've joined us for the Lotus Long Weekend parties will know my friend Farshad, who's hands-down one of the best DJs in Canada. It's been almost four years since his last CD release, so we're throwing a little party.
...as luck would have it, it's also just in time for the second half of my First Light / Last Night CD set, so we're doing both CD releases next Friday at the Waldorf. Farshad and I will be tag-teaming records all night, and giving out free copies of both CDs to everyone in the place. Also my last night out before I leave town, so it should be silly good fun, we'd love you to join us!
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| Monday, January 16th, 2006
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11:29 am
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"Allen's attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that executing a feeble old man amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
Allen has gone blind and deaf and uses a wheelchair. His heart stopped in September, but doctors revived him and returned him to death row. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his case on Sunday."
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| Friday, January 6th, 2006
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2:32 pm
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So that's a bit of good news.
After two months of wait-and-see, the new job offer came through this afternoon. Looks like I'm spending the month of February on tour as the lighting designer for a band called Stars.
This is sort of exciting news.
Looks like 19 shows in just under a month, all over North America. Totally random selection of venues, from a conference center in Winnipeg to the infamous Fillmore Theater in San Francisco. Also, a show in Vancouver for those who want to come point and laugh.
( dates! )
There'll be time off in some cities, not so much in others, but I'd love to catch up if I'm going to be in your neck of the woods.
Hooray!
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| Sunday, December 18th, 2005
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1:01 pm
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Got a new roommate today.
He's only meant to be staying with us for a few weeks, but you know how these things can get out of hand in a hurry.
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| Thursday, December 15th, 2005
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5:31 pm
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I'm watching the french-language leaders' debate, and a few things come to mind.
First, I'm not sure how this is possible, but Jack Layton is speaking French with a very, very strong Scottish accent.
Second, it doesn't matter whether he's speaking or listening, Gilles Duceppe has this look on his face that says "I can't believe anyone's even thinking of voting for these clowns!"
Third, Stephen Harper is, in fact, a robot.
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| Wednesday, December 7th, 2005
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10:35 am
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| Monday, November 28th, 2005
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9:24 pm
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Wow. Haven't updated in a while. So, the quick version:
- Work is nuts. Early in September, I got on board as the youngest of three in-house lighting designers for the mighty Commodore Ballroom, which has been just no end of exciting. It's been an overwhelming flood of new things to learn for months on end, and it's just a whole lot of fun.
- After a recent show at the Commodore, I was offered a job as lighting designer for a national tour this coming February. More details when I hear more (right now it's a 50-50 chance at best) but I'm pretty happy even to have been invited.
- Got a whole crop of new roommates in August, who have turned out to be wonderful people to live with, with zero drama and a bunch of fun here and there. The Yukon christmas party is December 17th, details to follow.
- Should have a new CD release ready for the New Years' Eve show. Fivebyfive is on hold for the time being, until things slow down enough to get another edition together.
- I think maybe there's a girl. We'll have more on that story as it develops. For Channel Six News, good night.
current mood:  cheerful
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| Sunday, September 25th, 2005
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6:12 pm
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"The [anti-war] group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world," Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, told the crowd.
One sign on the mall read "Arrest the traitors"; it listed Cindy Sheehan's name first among several people who have spoken against the war.
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| Thursday, September 22nd, 2005
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11:28 am
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Turns out that Mike Relm (see previous entry) is back in town in two weeks, playing a hurricane benefit at Sonar. Definitely worth checking out.
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| Tuesday, September 20th, 2005
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11:11 am
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So I spent the weekend doing the lighting for the Vancouver Hip-Hop Festival at the Commodore. Which, for the most part, was terrible. Endless scores of angry young white guys from the suburbs hollering about how they're all "street" and junk.
Then Mike Relm showed up. Skinny kid in an ill-fitting suit and nerd glasses, with a crate of records that looked like it weighed more than he did.
He spent the next hour scratching records across three turntables, beat-juggling and all the usual hip-hop DJ routine, except that the third turntable was a DVD player. At the same time as he's juggling audio across two records, he's cutting in the audio and video from the DVD, making it all into one seamless hip-hop track with synchronized images.
He put together a three-minute scratch track composed entirely of a breakbeat, a bassline and the scene from Office Space where Peter, Mike and Samir destroy the office printer with a baseball bat. Every time they hit the printer, he set off another string of beats.
He turned the theme from Peanuts into a hands-in-the-air hip-hop anthem.
Simply amazing. Even if you don't like hip-hop, worth checking out if you get the chance.
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| Saturday, September 10th, 2005
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12:54 pm
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So I've managed to do temporary damage to a disc in my lower back. Nothing too crazy, just a week of hobbling around like an old man, and a couple months of physio.
As this means I'm mainly housebound for a week or so, it would be most wonderful if you could reccommend books or movies.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
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| Friday, September 9th, 2005
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3:55 pm
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| Friday, September 2nd, 2005
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12:56 am
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The part about this whole situation in New Orleans that I'm having the most trouble with involves the air-ambulance mission that had to be aborted because a team of two snipers were laying down fire on the hospital.
I will repeat that.
There are, for some reason, snipers. These snipers, for some reason, are shooting at the hospital.
What did I miss? That kind of shit doesn't happen during an honest-to-God war.
Meanwhile, a FEMA spokesman gave an interview today in which he basically argues that anyone who didn't leave Louisiana before the hurricane hit deserves whatever troubles they're now facing.
I love it.
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| Thursday, August 18th, 2005
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3:26 am - Three thousand five hundred miles away / But what would you change if you could?
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I've been offered a job in Toronto, available whenever I feel like taking it, whether that's now or next year.
I don't see going anywhere before the end of the year, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's time for a new chapter.
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| Tuesday, August 9th, 2005
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1:57 pm
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One thing happened today that made my birthday great.
Most of you know I have a thing for Diet Coke. It's a habit I had fallen into after a long run of late nights and early mornings at work, fuelled entirely by caffeine. It got completely out of hand at times - an 18-hour show might involve three litres.
A month ago, I made a bet with myself to do the full 96-hour production of the Warped Tour without drinking Diet Coke. It worked, so I decided to see how long I made it before I caved and fell off the wagon, so to speak.
It's been a month today, so I opened one for lunch as a test. Didn't make it halfway through before I poured the rest down the drain; now that I've got my taste buds back, that shit is TERRIBLE.
Okay, so it's another week or three of caffeine headaches, but that seems like a small price.
Yay.
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| Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005
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3:43 pm
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"At mid-afternoon Tuesday, a spokesperson with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority said lightning was causing technical problems with the airport's lightning-detection system."
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| Saturday, July 30th, 2005
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9:08 am - A question of etiquette, really...
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So it was Everybody's Birthday last night.
Among other things, I received the following birthday cake from my ex-roommate's ex-girlfriend:
The only question I have is this: where the hell are you supposed cut the thing without psychological trauma?
current mood:  confused
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cracksmurf's journal
