One year ago today: April 5, 2014, ocean maturation.
Five years ago today: April 5, 2010, a quiet Monday.
Ten years ago today: April 5, 2005, a quiet Tuesday.
MORNING
Have you ever had a $13 sandwich? It’s easy, order an ordinary sandwich but ask for two eggs extra on the filling and a side of fries. Can you deal with the pace? Wait, I just realized I have two unchecked lottery tickets in my wallet. I even have a picture for you of the clubhouse. See the little ring of plants? Nice I suppose, but I would have voted to put cactus. Especially on the shadow side. I happen to know for a fact that at least one brand of cactus will grow in the shade.
Can anyone come up with a new title for this blog? Plainly, “Tales” has become outdated. I’ve kicked around a few ideas, but read below about a classic book that had the same decision to make. The new title has to be catchy, but in no way restrict the content in the viewer’s perception. Hence, I can hardly call it, “We, Robot”.
Put differently, this blog needs and “Exxon”. A title that is only descriptive in being unique. It cannot suggest nor constrain since I am not interested in appealing to any narrow range of viewers—except in that this is not a blog for the half-wits of the world.
That means time for some trivia. When Burger King opened in 1954, the price of a hamburger was 18 cents. Name of the first rock ‘n’ roll song to become #1 on the charts—“Rock Around The Clock” (Bill Haley & Comets). And speaking of books with the wrong title, here are some of the alternative titles considered for “Gone With The Wind”.
“Tote The Weary Load”
“Bugles Sound True”
“Not In Our Stars”
“Tomorrow Is Another Day”
NOON
“Let’s finish talking later, the news is on . . . Well, if you have tuberculosis, it’s not going to get any worse in the next thirty minutes.” --Sam Halpern
Mostly music thoughts this time, as I relax at home. Upon reviewing my videos, there is no denying I am a lounge musician. That does not mean I would pass up a bar band if one came along with steady work. But if want to shine anywhere, it will be in something that barely exists in Florida. The hotel lounge. They have a few, but seen to feature piano players and saxophone bands. This type of music is often dished out to tourists as being “sophisticated”. It isn’t.
I’ve reached an impasse with my guitar work. It is not and never will be my instrument. I can practice a new chop down to reasonably well, but it vanishes from my mind by the next time I return. I’m an electric bass player and that’s all I will ever be. Florida is the flakiest place I’ve ever seen for musicians, although there are a few close seconds. I draw a huge distinction been musicians and entertainers. I could name a few others who should do the same.
Like marriage, starting a band is a huge initial investment and the finished product is never at all what you bargained for. Nobody ever convinces or gets convinced but you compromise enough to keep the band together. There are exceptions, sometimes you actually meet somebody who is easy to work with. But I just said they are exceptions.
Florida is huge numbers of aging, balding guitar players who cling to the 80s. One critic says they are so fat they make their guitars look like ukuleles. That does not bother me as much as their attitude that they are undiscovered rock heroes. The one that will bring back the hair bands only without the hair. I see myself as an accomplished bassist, not ever as a hero, but remember, the slightest hint of being good enough to say so is unacceptable to the bulk of guitar-minded individuals.
I will sometimes tune to a random radio station and jam along to every song that happens. Every done that? Well, neither do the majoriity of Florida musicians. They play one and only one style each. They can be fanatical about not even listening to what they don’t play. I have twinges of the same, for example, I draw the line at jazz. I do not like jazz and I do not like the people who like jazz.
NIGHT
The scooter muffler is acting up, these things never go right the first time. And this is that new motor head I bought just a few months ago. We’re not out of tricks yet, so give it a day or two. With that in mind, I went downtown to watch “The Mafia Only Kills In Summer”. One of those movies you will have to make up your own mind about.
The movie has some constant influence I do not recognize, possibly television or political writing. It’s there along with a lot of stock footage from Italian TV. Hailed as the best movie ever out of Sicily, it was not anywhere near as slick as the productions from Rome. I would not pay to see it again.
My rating is, how to say this? It’s okay but it is also one of the chances you take attending the foreign cinemas. This attempt is more like an entry to the local film festival than an actual cinematic production. The plot moves methodically and I quickly lost track of all the different characters. Especially the politicians, there must have been close to twenty of them. Plus, how would I know whether a Judge ranks higher or lower than a Christian Democrat. I even got that wrong, I know. But having such things cluttering up the brain would help to understand this movie.
ADDENDUM
By now, we’ve all heard a few success stories from crowdfunding. My question is where is a definitive source of the failures? Whenever there is money involved, the rats find it faster than a hole in the barn floor. Last I heard, the government was looking into the affair as selling stocks without a license. But I have not heard of any scams yet. Then again, not so fast.
If you post on the musical instrument list, as I do, or make almost any replies on-line, you get a type of junk mail that links to crowdfunding sites. Have you not seen those? I posted on Craigslist that I was looking for a Fishman Solo and I got six or seven replies from people seeking money. These “replies” show up whenever you leave any kind of opening for reply mail. They do not ask for money, but direct you to a site like this one which are created for the purpose.
The answer is an automatic no. That’s like people at the phone company asking for the same thing. What did they do with all the time and money while they were there? I spent $16,000 of my own money training to be an accountant for the day I left the company and those who can’t be bothered to prepare, don’t be coming around here begging.
Help a veteran pursue a career? Isn’t the military a career? Am I missing something here? This type of appeal smacks of the United Way back in my phone company days. They encouraged the impression that you were donating to a few specific causes, and they were experts at playing that angle. You know, little Timmy on the poster. But when you looked at their payments list, that was another story. Altogether.
Let’s just say, United Way, that I do not donate money to riding academies, summer camps, or ballet schools whose sole qualification seems to have been putting a handicap sticker on their doorpost.
[Author's note: my lack of empathy for such outfits as named above is confined to non-essential services. I take a loss to donate to a riding academy, BUT does the riding academy take a loss to provide for the handicapped? Or is the donation just another income stream. See my point? Also, I've met a lot of people who think that donating to charity lowers your taxes. Read the fine print. Normally, it only reduces your taxable income--and that is not the same thing as lowering the overall amount you are out of pocket. You actually wind up paying more into the system by donating money.]
>Last Laugh
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