Category: Music

More Deadwood

Last night I watched some more Deadwood, which has bounced to the top of my addictions list.  How serious is it?  I’m OUT OF BEER.  I have been for multiple days.  One scene between Seth (Tim Olyphant) and Alma (the radiant Molly Parker) I pulled a Dru on about fifteen times.  The first five times, I just watched Molly.  The second five times I just watched Tim.  Then I noticed that the light was completely screwed up (when the camera was hard by Molly, there was no natural light except what was reflecting off buildings, and when the camera was hard by Tim, there was tons of natural light) so I watched the scene about another five times to try to figure out if it was a continuity error or whether it was deliberate.  I came to the conclusion that it was a continuity error, but it worked with the scene so they left it.  Then when I got to the end of the disk I watched again, because it has to be one of the best scenes ever in terms of dialogue and reaction shots.  It’s subtle, well scripted, adult and funny as hell.

The guy who plays Swearingen is a Machiavellian menace / Disney sappiness combo that continues to astound.  He gets multiple lines in every show that most actors would kill to get once, and when he gets the Gimp to fetch him a new brush to get the bloodstains off the floor I sat with my mouth hanging open, trying to figure what the hell would motivate him to do something so demeaning.  When I figured out his motivation I left my jaw to dangle.

Pulling a Dru, by the way, is from the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Dru watches somebody get fried and she says, “Do it AGAIN! Do it AGAIN!” in a particularly childlike way.

Time to get going on the day.

I’ve had 123 views on the Tapioca Song.  I actually ran into Dances with Sheep in the parking lot the other morning and he said, “I was humming it in the car” and I said, “Yeah, try being the poor woman who wrote it.”  Because when I get the Tapioca Song stuck in my head, it’s because I’m working out a mass arrangement for Chor Leoni. Grandiose….  Foolish…. and entirely unpreventable.

Running around

My bifocals are ready.  I go pick them up tomorrow.  My video is ready.  I’m too tired to figure out how to upload it to Youtube.  The cheque from the house proceeds came through – but there is a snag and a catch, as always, which I am not at liberty to talk about, except that everything is fine but for the delay.  Had dinner with Katie K (the moussaka was unbelievably good, I never had better) and did a brief shop afterwards as I have to cook something for the church supper tomorrow.

Like I said, a lot of running around.

Another loverly day

My passport’s here already!  I get to pick it up tomorrow. Katie says hers has turned up but she has to take time off work to pick it up so she’s some choked.  Oh well  ….NOW I CAN BOOK OUR VACATION!!!!! WEE.

Keith watched the Happy Feet segment of King of Jazz and he loved it almost as much as I did.  If anybody cares….

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Keith reports that he was on a Skytrain that got struck by lightning.  He said the car went deader than a doorknob and when the repair guy showed up (4 minutes later) he said the car disappeared off the screen at central like it wasn’t there any more.  To be anywhere in Vancouver and see lightning at all is unusual – to be in a Skytrain car that gets hit is downright freaky.

Went to Planet Bachelor tonight for a cooperative dinner and to pick up the camping gear.  I will not be posting unless my cell phone works up there, which I doubt, and I don’t feel like paying $30 in internet charges just to log onto my crummy site.  So I’ll be away from Friday night to Sunday night.

I am really looking forward to it, although a lot of my fave folks will be no shows due to other commitments.

Spoke to one of the Beacon young adults today about getting cooperative ministry set up at SFU.  We will see what happens.  I loved small group ministry when Paul and I were hosting – I have so many happy memories of that time.

Kira JUMPED INTO MY LAP when I was at Planet Bachelor tonight – that was a lot like getting struck by kitty lightning.

I must with sadness report that Speck, a companion animal in Chipper’s family, has gone where all good dogs go.  He was a lively critter – he loved to run.

Quick post

Bailed early on Richard Grainger last night at Jericho because Katie K was toothpicking (you know, holding eyes open with toothpicks).  I HATE the other coop car location up here.  It sucks a very filthy mop.  The parking space is miserably inaccessable.

Other than that life is good, except I didn’t get to play.

Oh, for the love of Pete

No, not Pete, some other guy on the Internet.

Scanged from Fark.  This could never have happened with me and Paul.  I would have figured him out from the typos almost immediately.  Mind you, I will never in a thousand lifetimes be able to fix an aircraft, so the typos aren’t really an idscf0066.JPGssue in the grand scheme of things.
Yesterday somebody asked me how the manhunt was going (not, thank God) and referred me to Craigslist.  I said, “Been there, etc.; I got one nebbish, one crazy, and one nice guy who didn’t want to have anything to do with me.  I’ll stick with what I got, and nobody has to listen to me snore, thanks!”

I keep watching the Happy Feet section of King of Jazz.  I really like watching Paul Whiteman dance – yes, I like watching the fat guy dance.  What’s wrong with that?  The other thing I keep watching is the unbelievable King of Jazz S&M sequence in “I’d like to do things for you” which, honest to Murgatroyd, is odd beyond compare.   When the guy starts lisping about spanking in baby talk my mouth hangs open about a yard.

We were down three people at work yesterday, and I got to be on the phone all day.  But the Fool was my day card, so I went into every interaction as a brand new fool – and all the customers were wonderful except one, and he turned out not to be my problem.  Anyway, I got a pile of orders to the ceiling, so, on the assumption that today will be like yesterday (it won’t…..) I’ll go into work a trifle early.

I restrung my guitar yesterday, the Nanostrings having grown this weird fungus-y thing on them.  I got Martin bronze and steels instead.  Immediately one of my old songs “All the Con Men I have Known” which is partly about Brian W – wherever he is, and partly about Kevin D – ditto, at least from what his wife tells me – and partly about Wally Solotow, may the goddess rest his soul, came into my mind and I rehearsed it for tonight.  I then picked up the guitar and wrung it into shape (the Seagull stays in tune very well once you bang it in) and got the chorus to a song which is going to be called “Little Cat” except of course it’s not about cats at all.  Then I started work on a mando chord progression which is extremely weird but I think will eventually turn into a song.

I am going to share a small secret.  About half a dozen times in my life, I’ve written a song that wasn’t true at the time but reflected a situation or emotional state, good or bad, and over time the EXACT words of the song have come true; or have since become hideously ironic.  I wrote a song with the lines “Well I wish I knew when we’d meet on earth again” within about 12 hours of Glenda dying last year, and that was a little close for comfort, when I found out afterwards, especially as my recollection of the song was that I had to stop what I was doing and write it.  I recollect it clearly; I was in the kitchen and for once alone in the house (songwriting with Keith around is an entire pain in the ass).   Anyway, it happened again.  I can’t say I’m entirely happy about it, because it’s just so bizarre, and the experiment is not repeatable or quantifiable, but imagine what it’s like to be me these days! Just think, if I write the correct lyrics I’ll win the lottery.

Pic is of the moon over the city from the deck at Jericho.

Off to church

The Masticating Ungulates are playing at church today, so I am going along.  Nobody will hear the mando over the bass and the banjo anyway (YYYYYYAAAAYYYY Lady Miss  Banjola is well enough to perform in public did I say Yay?).  Dr. Filk etcet. will be singing Jack Frost (swoon, it’s a favourite) and we’re going to sing “Absolutely Bonkers”

Rehearsal yesterday was fun and it sure was good to sing with Dr. Filk again.  I gave him a tip about writing Buffy filk (go to the canon and search on your character, and let the dialogue from the show write the lyrics!!) so I imagine his Anya tune will now come together much faster.  Although I didn’t apologize for the shit I’ve written about him on my blog, (Allegra sample lyric – I never say I’m sorry, I can’t make it convincing enough) I did take the worst of it down so anybody wandering across it for the first time won’t see it.  Lieber Gott…. look at the time, I’ve got a bus to catch.

Johnny Cash wrote over a thousand songs

So I guess I have some catching up to do… But you know, it’s the darnedest thing.  Art, that is, or sullen craft….  Anyway, I wrote a love song on behalf of somebody else; this would be about fifteen years ago now.  The song makes out the beloved to be – well, you know, special.

And I s’pose the object of the love, or lust, or alchemy, continues to be perfect, because that’s the way the song portrays her.  But in real life, she put on another 200 pounds, won’t look after herself in other ways, and will now toss you over the side if you so much as question anything about her current headlong rush into oblivion.

It’s one of my daughter’s fave songs of mine.  (Keith loathes them all, and rushes out of the room if I so much as start singing or picking up a musical instrument, even.  He will sit still for me singing something from the soundtrack for O Brother Where Art Thou or Both Sides the Tweed, or songs from WWII, but other than that he makes like a scalded cat.)  I am thinking it’s been a long time since I sang with Katie.