One year ago today: July 29, 2022, Fifty bucks, replace it.
Five years ago today: July 29, 2018, both chords.
Nine years ago today: July 29, 2014, cutting edge GIF.
Random years ago today: July 29, 2004,Ocean Reef.
Google is being a bastard again. This time, some of the photos on my oldest blogs are not displaying. I’ve noticed changes in the code they use over time, usually useless margin changes. That’s why I hard-code my margins, often called borders and padding. The pictures will display if I upload them again, but do you have any idea how much work that is? Good morning. It’s a good day because the A/C was off when I awoke. That means it is cool outside. The dead silence is still a strange sensation in Florida. It was such a treat and it lasted until the neighbor started his lawn mower at 9:00AM.
Another unpleasant aspect of backing tracks is those who use them put in so much effort on them, they don’t want to try anything else. Possibly they are also hesitant to play anything that they could not use on their own. He’s mentioned that his current guitarist can’t keep up with the tracks. I don’t know what he means, because that would be some lousy guitar playing no matter how you slice it. We have a time set aside in early August, which tells me the guy is still learning lead riffs. Nothing I play takes that much time to learn. Still, I’m desperate enough to get into a band to put up with this.
I’m waiting for a call back from the second guy, who is strictly a rhythm guitarist. But when they don’t have a place to practice, I’m always suspicious they just got out of jail. This guy just sounds cautious, so I’ll pressure him for a meet up as soon as possible. His nickname is the Prez, because he has the same name as a famous President. While waiting, see this Radio Shack prototype board? You’ve seen this picture before. I went on-line to find more, there are still warehouses full of these parts in America. Now the catch. The package was $4 but the shipping was $32. That has to be a mistake, so I checked other sources.
It’s for real. They want outrageous shipping rates. This could be the old restaurant trick of overcharging for the drinks so as to advertise the meal as cheaper. The heck with that, these boards are tricky to work with anyway. I’m waiting by the phone, I need to be ready to take notes or messages on the fly. So I get to watch the back yard. The Downeys have been away a few weeks now, but we have a pint-sized version now at the feeder. A juvenile male with all the energy of a healthy diet. This time I put out suet with blueberries, hoping to entice the Downeys.
There’s the call from the Prez. We meet up in Duff Park, that is in north Lakeland. Quite a hike from here. It’s on the highway north, the one that takes the first hour to drive whenever I head for Tennessee. The street is the same as the south end, but every red light and the insane traffic make the trip a chore. We talked on the phone and he gave a lot of the right answers. I don’t think he can play lead, a big plus. I have the Kodiac battery in the van, so we can find a spot and hope it doesn’t rain.
Coffee and the news, a good combo since 2015. Things are not going well at all for the Crackhead. The rising specter of Trump is causing mayhem in the Democrat camp. They cannot let him win. Trump, however, has learned to play on their fears. He announced that a conviction would not stop him from running.
These are the last ditch moves by the Democrats, in some cases they delayed the charges for years to hit Trump during election season. The fact that he is so far ahead is now worrying the legal departments that were once unshakably pro-Democrat. They are beginning to behave more like they are terrified what could happen and now trying to appear honest. Myself, I would never forget, I would hunt each of them down and that is what Trump should do. The Democrats are trying to put him in prison for 400 years for the crime of running against them, for crying out loud.
Marital state diagram.
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Did I already show you the picture of the big propane tank? It’s about to get a new lease on life if the government bans gas. The ban is being packaged as “green” and seeks to outlaw even wood heat. This fools nobody, the government wants to be able to cut of your electric if you don’t vote or think right and most people know this. My guess is that is over the line and will cause open strife. So, the trick is to survive long enough that the crisis sorts itself out. Like I said, I’ll fight for this country, but not for some queer to hold a parade. This is the blog that dares. Dares to feature a picture of a propane tank in the kudzu. Who could ask for anything more?
The meme making the rounds is the Judge who denied the crackhead’s plea bargain has announced in advance that she did not commit suicide. Next I read this damning article about the natives in Africa and their society. He discussed how they had a total gimmiedat attitude. No concept of tomorrow other that it will eventually arrive. They saw no connection between cause and effect unless it was immediate. Anybody who had the tiniest amount of money hid it or there would be a lineup around the corner for loans and favors.
Those who planned ahead and got ahead are dismissed as flukes, so success is not admired or sought. I kept reading it because it so closely matched my situation—an entire system designed to pull everybody down to the lowest common denominator. They’ve developed an entire tribal society based on handouts. The article describes how they never grow up, living their lives believing in “ghosts, angels, demons, curses, charms, blessings, and magic.” He compares African Islam to South American Christianity. That is, totally fucked in the head, a varnish of religion that lets people think everything is out of their hands.
The question on every tongue is how did the audition go? Fantastic. That’s happened before, so I’m watching for the non-music aspects. We met at Duff Park, the GPS says 13 miles, it was over 22. He’s same age as me, knows the same music, and is handily more than adept on the guitar. We played almost half a gig (about 15 songs), in pieces mind you, not the whole songs. We have a band any time we’d like, though he is still working for a living and it might be a couple times a month. I’m saying we are ready to go. His expectations are reasonable and he sings a lot like I do, sort of changing on key but well enough to win Karaoke prizes.
We played through some standards and recognized every tune the other guy played. That surprises me because I’m not big on Merle and Waylon. I like to record these things, here is what we played:
Amarillo by MorningOddly, he’s never heard of many rock standards. I’m alluding to the older tunes that now see country-like. He draws a blank on “Locomotive Breath”, “Love Me Two Times”, and a couple more that already escape me. He’s busy until August 18 with company but says there will be time to learn my list. He’s got zero management experience and is only too glad to turn that over to me.
Jambalaya
Party Till Money Runs Out
Act Naturally
Guitars, Cadillacs
Cocaine Blues
Midnight Special
Working Man Blues
These Boots
A Long Time Leavin’
Spiders & Snakes
Next Broken Heart
Six Days on the Road
Memphis, Tennessee
Here’s A Quarter
He was also impressed by the sound of his own playing when teamed with a good bassist. I fanned that by pointing out what to listen for and adding just enough fills to keep him occupied with the strumming. I’ve seen this before, which is why I laugh at guitar players who won’t even give it a try. Like the Hippie. It just makes me conclude they are afraid they might have to give up 5% of the attention they think is their due. Frets has a touch of that, but it could be those tracks.
Tracks, or any device really, is usually the result of someone who can’t play solo. The problem is, to learn anything new, their loyalty becomes to that device. They know any energy put into a tune without that box represents a potential loss, you might have to think that through. They develop a resistance to learning new material. It goes hand in hand with an attitude that everyone else’s taste in music is lousy. Fact is, they just don’t want to play any song that does not showcase their guitar work.
One successful audition does not make a band, so keep your fingers crossed this one will work out. We get along easily and he’s figured out I’ve got a lifetime on stage. He’s rather reserved but responded to explanations of things he found novel. Like the way I act as if there is always an audience present. He’s on the soft-spoken side and has mentioned he prefers somebody else front the show. He has learned big bands are a hassle and I think he’ll quickly learn to like the four extra tanks of gas per month.
[Author’s note: today in 2014 marks a pleasant change for this blog. I attempted to make my first GIF, and failed by the way. I did not know about GIF software (and of course could not find anyone with a clue, but oh sure, they are all experts). I had figured out they were a type of slideshow and attempted to string together a series of stills taken by the camera. Now I know better and take the stills off a video.]
ADDENDUM
That LeBron moron who pushes the vax has a school for his own kind. A White kid was murdered in front of it a few years ago, all hushed up by the media. Well, it turns out not one student from that school has passed the basic state 8th grade math test since 2020, as far back as the school will say anything. Here are my top ten favorite comments from GAB. TMOR, the Black American community has called math “racist” because the White kids tend to respond with the “right” answer.
1) What, with a school full of ‘scholars’?
2) They make it up as they go.
3) 2+2=5 or you are a racist, hating bigot.
4) This from the race that invented calculus 800 years ago?
5) LeBron can’t read so why bother with math?
6) Sheeit!
7) After all, they do let the boys wear dresses.
8) The good news is they all got the jab.
9) What did you expect from an average IQ of 60?
10) Future janitors of America.
