Thank you for bein' a friend

Note: From this point onward, I will attempt to make my blog less depressing.

You remember what is was like when you were a kid and you had a toy that was your absolute, uncontested favourite? You played with it incessantly, and probably dragged it with you most everywhere you went. You loved that inanimate hunk of plastic (or plush, as the case may be). You were devoted to it. You would never leave it behind. Remember that feeling?

Remember getting a new toy?

Suddenly, your world is upside-down, and your old favourite toy is relegated to the toy box. What a piece of crap that thing was, eh? Hard to believe you ever played with that. What an idiot you were. What poor taste.

Remember Pixar's classic Toy Story? Woody gets replaced in this way by Buzz Lightyear, that flashy winged bastard, and hilarity ensues. But in the end, the kid (whose name escapes me, and IMDB is just so far away...) learns to love both his toys, and everyone lives happily ever after. God I love that movie.

Anyway, believe it or not, there is a point to all of this. I've recently fallen back in love with my first electric guitar, the famous Ms. Jackson. For some time I had dismissed her, I mean it, as a cheap p.o.s., and relegated it to the back of the guitar stand in favour of the Yellow Guitar. But lately I have rediscovered the fact that the thing absolutely fucking rips! Especially with the Seymour Duncan humbucker I had installed a couple of years ago and my 50-watt Peavey ValveKing.

I have thus come to love all of my guitars as individuals, and stopped measuring them against one another. They are like children; they are all special, in their own unique way.

So thank you Ms. Jackson, for being there, and being patient. And especially for rocking so damn hard.




















Ms. Jackson: isn't she sexy?

The single life

I'm kinda sick, feeling bored and unmotivated, and dying for something to do tonight. Yay!

In other news, I'm still single. Definitely still single, but there is a bright light on the horizon. A few weeks ago, I was preemptively rejected by a friend of mine I had asked to dinner (as a friend thing, not as a date). I'll spare you all the details; you can read about it here.

Anways, I've really come to like this girl, and so I finally bit the bullet a few days ago and asked her to reconsider going on a date with me. Strange thing is, she didn't say yes, but neither did she say no. She said she's enjoying being single, but that she is interested in me. She wants to think about it. Gah.

I tried my best to convince her, without being too forceful and scaring her away. I told her we had nothing to lose, that there was no pressure, since neither of us is looking for anything too serious, but also that I thought she was beautiful and generally fantastic.

Thursday night we spooned while watching tv. It was amazing. Here's hoping.

No ice cream thanks, I'd like some crow on my humble pie

Most people who know me know that I have a burning desire to play in a rock band. A friend of mine is in a band, and last semester he invited me to jam with them (well, it was just him on bass and his guitarist/singer friend). Frankly, it wasn't that fun because they don't play cover songs, only their own material, and I didn't know any of their songs. Also, the guitarist played an electric acoustic, and everything sounded weird and jangly to my ears. I must also confess that i told people how much I didn't like them.

My, how things can change.

After acquiring a drummer and dropping the acoustic for a raunchy electric sound, I dig this band, especially "Cute Eyes" and "The Bottom Line". I want to play guitar for them. I've never been offered a place, but I have been asked to do some leads for one song. Hopefully this pans out.

Here's the rub. My friend sends me demos of their songs, and I actually think they're really good now. Not only does this make me feel like a hypocrite, but it makes me second guess my own songwriting abilities, since I haven't really been able to write vocal melodies or lyrics, and everything I've written seems repetitive and boring now. But somehow this seems like a good thing, like it'll force me to be less complacent and to work harder at composing and creating and being original. I'm really impressed by these guys, and strangely inspired.

Now I just need to learn to sing.

Wow, parts of that last post sound really bitter. It makes it sound like I'm against thinking, which is not the case at all. I guess I'm against thinking too much. A fine line, I know.

Wax on, wax off, part I

We sure like to talk. And think. Prophesize and proselytize. Wax philosophic.

Today is the NHL trade deadline, and TSN has "complete coverage." SIX HOURS with a panel of "experts" predicting who will go where, discussing fantasy trades and generally not doing anything that serves any real purpose. Sports commentator is just one of the many roles we've created in our society that I just don't understand.

Ditto for critics, reality tv show hosts and participants and most modern-day philosophers.

Imagine all the things we would have accomplished if we didn't waste all our time thinking about accomplishing them or contemplating what it would mean to do so. Is there a God? Why argue it, since you will never know? Unless of course He/She does exist, in which case you won't know for sure until you're dead anyway.

For instance, in my translation grad seminars we often have to read theoretical articles about what it is to translate and how we should go about it. Don't get me wrong; it is important (and often interesting) to study such things to a certain degree. One needs to learn how to speak and think about one's chosen field of study, and such articles certainly help in that regard, as well as in helping shape the particular approach one will choose to take, but there comes a point when you need to just shut up and do it. What is translation? Taking something in one language and saying it in another. Punto.

Also, 50% of translation studies scholars are not translators. I think there's a flaw in that logic...maybe I should meditate on it, and publish a philosophical treatise...or a vague, long-winded scholarly article...I'd have to make sure not to define any terms or concepts though...

New guitar project

Well, it has been decided. My next guitar project will be the infamous Telestar. I pulled it out today and played it for a while, and it plays and sounds better than I remember. There are just a few bugs to fix in terms of playability (some pops, scratches, fret outs, buzzing, etc.), but it needs some fairly important cosmetic touches. What remains to be seen is how exhaustive a project this will be...and whether or not to go with sparkle paint again.

So far, this is what I've got in mind:

-strip and refinish the body
-replace grubby hardware
-new tuners/bridge
-new pickguard
-remove toggle switch (since it doesn't do anything)

I might look into replacing the neck, but I haven't decided yet. Same goes for changing the position of the bridge. I'm also not sure what to do about the pickups: I love the way they look with that white plastic insert, but they sound kinda dead and they're really grubby. We shall see.

Pics to come in the future.

edit: Maybe lipstick pickups are the way to go. It would certainly tie in with that funky, retro vibe...