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-Bearded Creative Pioneer of the World of Tomorrow-

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Merry Fishmas

Alrighty, so the new year is days away and I have some things that need to start and things that I need to finish soon. First, I got two books I really wanted for Christmas that I've talked about before, the Daily Reader/Writer. They're dated for everyday starting January 1. I'm excited for those to start and believe that it will keep me on track. Also got 3 other books I asked for that I'm very excited to read. I love me some good reading.

I also need to record and send in my video for the MATC scholarship contest. My vision is becoming clearer and I really believe it will work out and that I have a good shot.

My short term goal for my writing dreams, should nothing work out with MATC, is that I will have a few articles published be the end of the year and have an overall clearer sense of where and what I need to write. It'd also be nice to make a few bucks. But, you never know where my path will take me. Who knows, I may win that scholarship and start building my portfolio that way. Merry Fishmas one and all. (It's a Simpsons thing, before they sucked.)

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Taking a Hit this week

So this week has been riddled with concerts and additional obligations that are not in the usual scope of things. As a result, my goals have taken a bit of a hit this week. Today is the first time I'm writing and reading this week. Ugh. But this is a really busy time and if I'm going to keep up my sleep and energy, something has to be sacrificed, and this week it's some goals.

No matter, next week I'll start fresh and do work. Hard to believe next week is Christmas already...Time flies when you have a job that is repetitive and meaningless. The days really run together and my routine (sans this week) has been quite consistent.

I came up with a pretty rough draft of what I want to do for my MATC video. It's going to be hard just using my Macbook camera, but doable. I'm pretty confident I'll at least be a runner-up.

Also, Kristen bought me LEGO Batman for Christmas, and it is awesome.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Going swimmingly, one might say

Well, the weekend is here. If nothing else, UPS is teaching me valuable real life experience. For instance, the phrase TGIF is no longer just a weird restaurant I've never eaten at but always looked suspect, but the weekend really is a safe haven, especially for us labor goons. In college, it was more of a time to procrastinate and drink heavily. These are things that change with age I suppose.

But anyways, I am semi-finalist in the competition for free tuition for 2 years at MATC, which is damned exciting. I never even considered that I would actually be accepted for anything, especially as my story doesn't seem all that compelling, compared to hardships others face. But maybe nobody else entered, hahaha.

I did indeed get some Christmas shopping done this week and have kept pace with my reading and writing. These things excite me. I know if I didn't make these weekly goals it would never happen. So I'm glad that I'm sticking to my guns. It's a good feeling.

I have not quit UPS, even though they are acting like douche-holes. But under the advice of one of my drivers, I'm not letting them get in my head. I just want the paycheck. I even wrote about UPS this week as one of my writings. Boo-yah.

Well, this weekend I'll finish the last days for goals then come up with a new list for next week, check it twice, and do work. TGIF.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I remember snow days

Damn that facebook and the constant reminders that everyone else has a snow day. UPS, the company that prides itself on the safety of its employees, made everyone come in this morning, and every driver come in. The best way to describe the weather is not frightful, but definitely not safe. They were closing ramps off the interstate...the interstate people. And a lot of these drivers have routes through the country roads of the Sauk county area. Unreal.

Anyways, I've decided to make my snow day from now until around 6 or 8. Then I stop drinking and the like. If everyone else round these parts gets a snow day, so do I.

To top it off, I'm still writing and reading today. I'm impressed with myself. I've made some interesting writings this week so far. Some good brainstorming came out for the BNR, and I've started reading Marley and Me, which is pretty good so far. I also have a long list of books I need to plow through soon. In due time. But now, it is time to drink. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, actually around the Madrid area. Boo-yah.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

A New Week of Goals

A new week is upon us and that means I need to get together my goals for this week. I will keep this up. Okedoke, this week should be easier than last. But here we go.

First, we'll get out the standards right away.
1) I will not quit UPS this week, no matter how terrible they treat me, or how backed up I get. This week the start times are even earlier... tomorrow I have to get up at 2:15...a few weeks ago, I wouldn't even have gone to bed that early...ugh.

2) I WILL write and read everyday. As I said before, some good writing came out of last week. This week I will start reading either Marley and Me or one of the Chuck Klosterman books that I haven't read for a while. I'm pretty pumped.

3) I WILL finish the adjustments for Kristen's tunes tomorrow. It shouldn't take too long, but I did not have the energy for it this weekend.

4) This isn't so much a goal as something that is going to happen, but I'll be hearing about whether my loans will get deferred or not this week. I'll have to follow through with whatever happens.

5) Tiny goal, I will do some Christmas shopping this week...yup.

So yes, not a whole lot going on this week, but they are all things that need to be done. I'm going to really brainstorm ideas for articles for the Baraboo News Republic. Let's make that another goal...10 article ideas. More updates soon.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

as promised....GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL

That's right everyone, I did it. All of the goals I set, in their original form, are completed. Today I finished Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and am currently writing. BOOM. I realize that because of the added song Kristen asked me to do that extra song that I am not TECHNICALLY done, but that wasn't a part of the deal. IT WASN'T PART!!! And the reason those had to be done was so that a CD could go out to the teachers by Friday, which it did.

The big one that I finished yesterday, with an added bonus, is the registration with the sauk county job center. It didn't take long and it inspired a piece of writing that was kind of hard to write. When I got home, I also applied for the additional deferment on my student loans. I should find out in a few days whether or not they will accept, which they damn well better.

Out of all my writing this week, two good pieces came out of it. This would not have happened if I hadn't kept the craft up and gotten the crappy writing out. In addition, finishing that book made me feel quite productive. Under normal circumstances, I would have dragged those last 70 pages out for a good month. But no, not with my goals. Now I get to move on to a new book with a clean slate, no leftovers. This is something that I haven't gotten to do in a while.

Oh, and I didn't quit UPS, boo-yah.

I'll have to reflect on everything today in order to decide what next week's goals should be. Obviously, not quitting UPS and reading and writing everyday will be constants, but I'm not sure on the other variables right now. It's hard to gauge how reading a book will go sometimes, time-wise. And I need to pick one out... Anyways, I'm very happy with how this week turned out and am excited to keep this purpose filled drive going. Do or do not. There is no try.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

So far so good

So, we're at mid-week, and my goals have gone swimmingly. Just a few seconds ago, I finished putting together/exporting/burning all the tunes Kristen asked me to do....only to give me one more, but I still consider it a success, as I don't have to have it done this week. SO, badaboom. I have to say, they sound pretty good, even out of computer speakers, and that usually reveals alot for me. I suppose they could have been a bit more polished, but A) time was a huge factor and B) these kids have never had a decent program before and I'm sure the families will be blown away by anything. Plus, I'm sure I hear the little things more than everyone else. All in all, I am very satisfied with the end product. Cross that off the list.

Despite UPS's best efforts, I have not quit yet this week either. They took away one of my 4 trucks to make things easier and it really did help, but as of today, the busiest day so far, they added one back in the line-up, completely running me down. I worked through break to catch up, but it didn't matter at the end of the day. I also stopped sweating after about 3 hours because I ran out of fluids to sweat out. Ugh. It was pretty terrible, but it's their own damn fault. They know I can't handle 4, I've talked to them about it, and they still ignore, which pisses me off, royally. But I'm sticking it out for now. We'll see for how long. A half check on that one, as the week is not over, but I don't foresee leaving this week.

Went to the pseudo-interview on Monday and was asked to shadow for a day to see if it'd be something that I'd have a passion for. I am very open to it and look forward to my shot at a real job that won't destroy my life. Check that shit off.

I have been writing every day (and I have decided that a blog does count...this time) and reading every day. Yesterday was mostly Writer's Digest blogs and stories, and today was a thorough reading of the Baraboo News Republic. Monday was the apex though, finished half of Fear and Loathing. A lot better than I thought it would be actually. Hunter S. Thompson's writing style is very unique, but I don't see many similarities between us, which is fine. It's good to see other things and experience different styles. I do feel that this is helping me learn. If only I wasn't a prick in high school in regards to English. After freshman year I didn't do any required reading, all spark notes. What a douche. I plan to read most of those books in the coming months, especially the classics. These are things that need/will happen. Another half check for this goal, as the week is far from over and I haven't finished the book yet. It will happen, and I will keep writing. I really feel a sense of accomplishment and pride from this particular goal.

I have not registered at the Sauk County job center yet this week, but I still have two days, and I don't think it will take too long. A necessary inconvenience I guess. Still, bullocks to it.

That's all for now, an update on the goal-age will come on Sunday at the latest, methinks. It will probably be entitled, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLL, as exclaimed by a Hispanic Futbol announcer.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Goals for this week

So, this week I'm setting a lot of goals for myself. We'll see how many I complete. But outlining them out may help get more done than if I didn't.

The first is not the hardest goal, but still, it deserves to be mentioned. For tomorrow, I will try not to quit UPS with the undoubtedly ridiculous amount of work that will happen in a short amount of time. I've tried quitting before, but somehow got talked into staying, and it seems my statements were heard, for the most part. But I still need to set that goal, don't quit until I have another job AND know that it won't suck AND is stable. Lesson learned.

The second goal is to go to my pseudo-interview tomorrow and give it the old "college try." I don't want to disclose too much information, as it may lead to nothing, but just know that it is in a field I'm not totally excited, but holds potential. Either way, a new friend is giving me a bit of a chance.We shall see.

Goal the third. I need to go to the Sauk County job center to register so I can apply for additional deferment on my student loans. That first deferment period expired last Monday and the first payment would be due at the end of December. No thank you.

An absolutely necessary goal is to finish ALL of Kristen's Christmas tunes, including the changing of existing projects and tailoring them to her needs. Not the hardest, but it really does need to be done.

Finally, my two personal goals for the week, and all subsequent weeks. I WILL write something every day. I WILL find some prompts if nothing strikes me a write-worthy, and I WILL write a complete piece.
AND
I WILL read every day. I WILL finish "Fear and Loathing..." by the end of this upcoming weekend. I WILL think about what I read and learn from it. I WILL also keep tabs on the Baraboo News Republic, finding something to write about for them.

All of these goals are doable, but it takes some determination to finish everything and do it right. I'm working on getting the word "try" out of my personal vocabulary (even though I use it in my first and second goals, but one thing at a time). I know it's kind of cliche, but on those last two goals, it does make a difference using the word "WILL" in place of "try." I never thought it would, but Lo' and behold. This will be a successful week.

Moving on...

The long weekend has been very relaxing, for the most part. Aside from some mediating and hearing some not so great opinions about me, it was nice. I also got my butt in gear and finished making all Kristen's Christmas program material, or at least the stuff that I had to do from scratch. Now all I have to do is make good mixes, get the correct tempo, and rearrange 2 of them for different numbers of verses/choruses, but it is all MIDI, so it should be no problem. I realized today as well, if I were an actual professional, I could charge around $500.00 for all the work I've done for Kristen. Not that I mind, but it does throw it in to perspective, that this is something I could get paid for, which is fun to think about.

Other than that, I've been reading a lot more lately. I finally have gotten around to reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." I've had the book less than a year, but I hate having seen the movie without reading it, especially for such a "cult" book like this. What a dumb term. I hate when things are proclaimed as cult classics, like Rocky Horror and the like. It's a term that tries to make those special followers feel more unique or something. Lame.

Whilst compiling my Christmas list for this year, I found some really cool books that I want. One is the newest by one of my favorite authors, Chuck Klosterman. I really love his books, they inspire me, and they are such quick reads. Truly fantastic, and I can't wait to read his newest. Another is from an author who seems similar in writing style to Klosterman, Steve Almond. I've read some excerpts online and it seems to keep in line with the informal, funny, witty style that I really enjoy. I actually just remembered another book I saw come out when I was still at Barnes and Noble from another great author, A.J. Jacobs. He wrote the "Year of Living Biblically ( as Literally as Possible.) I plan on rereading that one soon as well. But he just came out with another book called "The Guinea Pig Diaries (My life as an experiment.) Looks good. He wrote "The Know-It-All" first, a book about reading the encyclopedias from cover to cover, which I also wish to read.

The other two I really want are a pair of books called "The Daily Reader" and
'The Daily Writer." They're supposed to be tools to help a writer, well...read and write, everyday. And lately, I have been trying to write daily, but I'm only successful about 1/3 of the time. I've been trying to write under the same idea as I compose, that I need to finish everything before moving on, even if it sucks. That way the bad ideas are out and you can only get better. Also, completing a story/article leaves me with a sense of accomplishment. I think these books will be a good way to keep me motivated. If not, it's not the end of the world, but even in failure, I learn.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Response to Prompt- Fun Shtuff (and true)

So here's a prompt I recently responded to on Writer's Digest, good stuff.

PROMPT: Your boat rocks back and forth, and you peer over the edge, catching a glimpse of something you thought was gone forever.

Below is my response-

And the people all said “Sit down,” cause this boat is rocking, baby. Even to the eye of a child, you can tell I am not a seasoned sailor. I stumble…and bumble, and nearly plummet into the ridiculously calm water and BAM. I see it. My wolverine action figure from when I was eight lays waiting. That was one of the biggest mistakes of my young life. The item of my once ultimate fixation had retractable claws…RETRACTABLE!!! This was back in the day, before action figures could move every joint imaginable.

I remember that day so clearly. Playing in the waters of Lake Michigan, I was tossing my beloved figure as high as it could go, catching it just as it would fall to the water. But one toss didn’t go according to plan. Uncontrollable giggling caused me to falter. However, all hope was not lost. Concentrating to the fullest of my eight year old abilities, I located Weapon X with my feet. Being of the husky build, I was far from spry. All attempts failed miserably. I even tried hopping towards the shore with my prized possession betwixt my feet. And of course, I failed miserably.

Time ran out and I was forced to go home. My parents noticed I wasn’t playing with my week-old favorite toy. Not wanting to disappoint, after I fought so hard for them to buy me my toy, I lied. I described to them exactly what I did, except that I didn’t do it, Carlo did. Long story short, his family ended up moving to Thailand and nobody knows the truth.

Oh Wolverine action figure, we hardly knew ye.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Post 30

Why why why, what have we here, post number 30.

So, UPS didn't turn out to be what I was hoping for. Not a huge surprise at this point. Disappointment after disappointment, but I'm trying to give the learning curve a shot. It is, after all, a steady job. We'll see after this week I imagine. Let's pray this works out. But if it doesn't, I was able to state my case to a few more local friends of the older variety. The more people that know about my current state of being, the more people can help me.

I have also decided that writing is my true calling. There is no more variation or question. I strongly feel that I should be writing for a living, or at least a small part of my living where I can still call myself a working writer.

After I decide on what I'm going to do about UPS, I believe I'll be able to concentrate more fully on my writing. Currently, I'm reading and researching before I set out on another writing front, documenting all ideas. I also received word from an actual writer at the local newspaper that freelancing is the best bet I have at getting A) published and B) real experience.

Here's to a good and productive week of Thanksgiving. Been a hard six months, but let's hope there's more to be thankful for soon, not to say I'm not thankful for what has been going right, just the work aspect of life.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Far from Failure

Tomorrow I start my third job in my four months of living in Baraboo. Fourth since graduation. However, there are extenuating circumstances for each of these jobs and the departures that follow. First, I took a job at The Exclusive Company in Janesville because I needed a job whilst living in Whitewater before relocation. Then I moved to Baraboo, no more Exclusive Company. Barnes and Noble was an act of desperation after almost three weeks with no income and job after leaving Whitewater. Truth be told, I was really hoping that Barnes and Noble would be a place where I could stay and start a pseudo-career, or at least a decent job while I pursue my real interests. For the wages that I was being paid and the minimal hours I was receiving, the commute was not worth it and I was barely breaking even (if I even was, not totally sure.) For the purposes of this declaration, the terrible work atmosphere has nothing to do with my departure. Next on the docket, I accepted a job at Lands' End in Reedsburg (15 minutes away, rather than 45) for much more pay. The real zinger here is that it was only a seasonal position with no guarantee of employment after December. Essentially, I had no choice but to keep on the job search, regardless of how I probably could have stayed on, or my feelings toward the work I was doing. So last week I interviewed for another seasonal position at UPS. During said interview, I was offered a permanent position instead. Obviously, I took the job. I need steady income, steady hours, and UPS is literally five minutes away from my apartment.

So, what have we learned through the last six months? That I have advanced my position in the work world with each job I have taken. Since graduation, I have had minimal hours at every place of employment, pay increases at every job, and now have steady, permanent hours and employment. Can't argue with that. I definitely don't see these past months as job hopping either. The circumstances surrounding college graduates and the relocation after graduation create an atmosphere of uncertainty. As long as I keep advancing myself, I have no qualms with how I am going about things.

Enough about that for now. In the rest of my spare time I have been working on accompaniments for Kristen's Christmas programs. Most of them are standard Christmas tunes of the secular variety, Jingle Bells and the like. I'm about half done with them and have had very little resistance whilst recording/arranging. The only things that are holding me back are my lack of piano skills and my lack of a decent microphone. Because of these limitations, I am recording everything with MIDI. This way I can play things at slower speeds and then speed them up or slow them down as needed. It would be rather handy to be able to make a good acoustic guitar recording as the base of these pieces though. I find it much harder to fill out the sound without the guitar or a real piano part. Basically I am plunking out chords and dressing it up with counter melodies, percussion, and some other background sounds. It is amazing how much a little synth can go a long way in these small productions, bring it to life and give people something else to listen for, if they wish. That's another that's nice. They bring some extra spice without being overbearing. The counter melodies/descants really allow me to bring something individual to these standard arrangements. It's a challenge, but it is well within my grasp and only requires deep concentration and time. In other words, this is something that I am greatly enjoying.

There we have it, I am still advancing myself in any way possible. I am, as we say in the business, far from failure.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Musicland is Still Exciting....WEEEE!!!!

Yesterday, I listened to Julian Casablancas' first solo effort, Phrazes for the Young. During the listening process, a giddiness that can be likened to that of a school girl came over me. The album clocked in at about forty minutes or so, but due to the average 5 minute song length, it came out even. From the start the album has a great sound and energy. Of course it still sounds like the Strokes got injected with a heavy dose of Moog and synth, but it somehow it stands alone. The production is pretty great and Casablancas' vocals are great to hear in a new context, especially because we haven't heard it since 2006. It was very exciting. This album is a fantastic new sound that shows artistic maturity.

With the recent release and success of the new Muse album, and the semi-recent release of Franz Ferdinand's Tonight, I still have great faith in the music business. Bands are still making great albums and advancing along. They also aren't fitting the "mold." The mentality seems to be more of "I'm going to do what I want, and don't care if you like it." And in the case of Chris Cornell, nobody liked it. From listening to 94.1 in and out of Madison for a few weeks, I got very put out with the current state of rock. Everything sounded the same, ultra-compressed, and not the least bit exciting, even the new Alice in Chains. But luckily, Muse and Julian have restored my love of new music.

Truth be told, the one musician that has been a real dud is Jack White. The man dips his hand into anything he smells. I was totally cool and excited with the Raconteurs/White Stripes deal, but the new James Bond theme with Alicia Keys, his own record label (Third Man Records) and the Dead Weather hit. James Bond theme= terrible, Third Man Records=whatever, Dead Weather=lack luster. The man is now some sort of musical genius and mogul. He needs to focus on something. When was the last time the White Stripes did anything, aside from a DVD released after being recorded years ago. White is a musician and should stick to doing just that...but not in every band he comes near. The material written in the Raconteurs is great, but they have no momentum because White keeps leaving for other shit. It's annoying.

Still, everyone else seems to be advancing, and that makes me happy.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Cough Cough Cough, HACK

Been a bit since my last post, but it's been pretty crazy lately, somehow. Last week I went and presented the "alternative" string family to 4th graders at Kristen's school. It was a lot of fun and I actually felt like I did something with my time. It also made me learn banjo and get a little better at mandolin and dulcimer. The dulcimer is the cat's pajamas. I wrote a tune on it which is very beautiful (one of Kristen's favorites) but there isn't much else I can do it on it so far. I should probably check out some online instructional videos.

Training is over for Lands' End and I can't say that the real thing is the greatest. Don't get me wrong, it is far from terrible, but it's not as fulfilling as it was before. It's much more repetitive and menial now. It feels like I'm a rat now, just doing dirty work for the larger power, and it doesn't do much for me, unfortunately. It all comes down to same thing as before, except now I don't work with terrible people. I honestly think that if I'm not doing something I love and have a passion for, I'd get more out of manual labor. I still need to finish up the educational assistant application, and that could be a nice compromise, but we'll see.

Anyways, I've been trying to compose handbell music lately, but to no avail. It is much harder than I thought, but I'll keep going. Came up with a good tune the other day, but I didn't come up with lyrics. Soon Kristen will have holiday tunes to keep me occupied, so I'll be busy soon enough.

Oh yeah, I'm sick too. Cough cough cough, hack.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thought Provoking

So here's the deal: I'm done at Barnes and Noble (thank god) and have started at Lands' End. The training has been pretty ok, but the pay is ridiculously higher (3.50 more) and have half the commute. I got put into this "advanced" training group which makes things better for the slower people by making it worse for me, but it still isn't terrible. We'll see how things go when I get out on the floor.

But anyways, as usual, I've been posting "on this day in history" events on my facebook status, as I have been for the past 4 or 5 months. Actually, they're all I post aside from the regular football rant about terrible playing. Anyways, a former professor posted on my wall that she thinks I should get my masters in history and then teach high school. Another friend suggested I also get my history degree of some sort and attempt to get a history program at NPR. At first, I laughed it off because I never thought that I would ever teach anything, let alone high school. But the more and more I think of it, the more and more it makes sense. I used to love history until AP World History in high school, then it was over. But in my senior year of college I had 2 fantastic history classes that rekindled my love of history. And the whole wikipedia daily events thing started as an exercise to keep learning things after school, but these are things I actually look forward to. I love the fact of the day that is cool and that nobody cares about. Right now isn't the best time to go to school though, but it is another thing to consider. I'm trying to think of ways to combine my talents, such as music, writing, and history. Obviously, there's music history writer, but I was never that great at music history.

I'm sure that things will work out and that over time I'll decide on something. Anyways, I'm glad there's another option on the table that I'm very interested in. So it goes.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Lame 40 year olds who don't love Obama and probably don't know what downloading is...

WOW. So Friday night I went to this bar called Scatz in Middleton for the Onion. It was ridiculous. It was immediately apparent that those of us under the age of 40 should not be admitted. Not only did NONE of the Onion RSVP-ers come, but the "band" was a terrible cover band who butchered about every 80s funk tune I have ever funked to. Terrible. The dancing was akin to monkeys attempting to create fire with bamboo and water. Muy horrible.

I also saw that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, good for him. That is all.

Today, I read a British blog about illegal downloading. It made me ponder. Years ago I wrote a response for CMJ magazine about RIAA's suing of college students. Basically, I said that the RIAA should further explore the reasons and the people who are downloading before slapping huge lawsuits on poor college students. I still think that there are ways to harness downloading and figure out ways to make CDs more affordable. You'd think that for as long as CDs have been the main medium for music that they would reduce in price. In fact I think that CDs used to be less expensive. What's the deal? But anyways, the saucy Brit decided that if people love music so much, they should be able to buy it. I think the movie "The Soloist" proves that point wrong. Poor people can love music too damnit. Worst point ever. That debate will never end. Rich musicians will always fight against "piracy," and EVERYONE else will be against them. It is an ambiguous subject and there is no good answer. People need to get over it and people shouldn't be sued OR, as I recently heard, get permanently kicked off the internet?!?! Outrageous. Nowadays, that is to equivalent of being Judge Dredd being thrown into the Cursed Earth. In modern day Earth, the concept of excommunication from the internet is impossible. But if there is a way to do that, maybe that should be a sentence for court rulings instead of community service or, I don't know, DEATH. Or, you could get to choose! That'd be something.


Sunday, October 4, 2009

B & N, eat it

So I put my two weeks notice in at Barnes and Noble yesterday. I've decided at the very least to take the Land's End job, there have been a few people who have vouched for Land's End quality of employment AND I really can't stand the measly checks coming from Barnes. It's terrible. With my last oil change, all the gas I burn for them, and the less than 20 hours a week I get, it's not paying off. Plus, they blow.

Also, I've done some more thinking and I don't think I have a shot at the Mauston radio job. I realized that when I called the other day that he said "we're finishing up interviews." However, I never got an interview after my hour long application process. Son of a bitch.

On the creative front, I started a really cool sounding project yesterday morning. It was getting a bit too "pirate-y" but I think I'm bringing it back to a more sophisticated level. There's some polyrhythmic action happening in this one, quite on accident of course. I only hope that when I finally get to put vocals to it, that they match the quality of the product so far. I may need help on this if I can't come up with anything great, but I'd really like to finish this on my own.

Unfortunately, I haven't received proper incentive or inspiration on the writing front lately. Recently, I got rejection e-mails from the last places I have sent things in to. I'm waiting for something to open up on the local level to get my break and publication in, but nothing has happened so far.

But, I am taking a risk with Land's End, and that's worth it right now. Barnes and Noble, eat it.

Friday, October 2, 2009

I didn't even wear a tie...

Alright. I don't get it. Why do people refuse to give me a job that involves physical labor, then offer me a job that I didn't actually apply for?!?!?!? I went in for an interview with Land's End today for a warehouse job, and bam, they put me through the ropes for a phone sales job. Fortunately it isn't a "I call you and try and get you to buy something" sort of deal, and I would sit on my ass all day. The pros of this potential job are that it pays over 3 dollars more than what I make already for a job that is more than twice as far away. It also could get the full 40 hours and a consistent schedule. BUT it also is only through December with no guarantee of continuation, although I think I could make it happen. I just don't get it though. Last time I applied for a warehouse job, they immediately did the same thing, except it was a commission thing that sucked balls. I thought it was because I was overdressed, so this time, I was more casual, and didn't even wear a tie damnit. No tie. I have till Wednesday to think about it...we'll see.

Also called the Mauston radio station today and apparently they're still interviewing and will know by....WEDNESDAY!!! Fucking A.

I'm also having some success finding some collaborators for projects. Unfortunately, they both would be distance, but still. All in all, I'm very satisfied with my creative output. It's taken some new directions and has been pseudo-prolific. I may try exploring some new ground this coming week with some of the acoustic instruments I have access to, but I'm not sure that I want to stop the streak that I'm on. We'll see.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Glad I could help/No bites from the carp

Dear CuckooNookoo:

I'm glad my blog helped with the 3DK thing. Essentially what happened was after I interviewed, rode along for what was basically door to door sales, and got offered the job. My family was skeptical and encouraged me to do some more research. After I swallowed my pride, I checked it out and got the story from 3DK themselves, told me that Michael Sessions is the guy who started the company that 3DK branched from. I typed in "3DK" and "Scam" and found a few hits. Then, I typed in Michael Sessions on it's own and all I got were scam reports. All the reports documented exactly what I went through, going on to say they never got paid after a month and a half of work. It was eerie how accurate those reports were. I never called them again, and they called me in May and left an awkward message. I've never heard anything since. But an acquaintance worked there while I interviewed. I never got her exact story, but about a month later, I saw she was unemployed, along with her fiancé. That was it. A few months after that, I met another person who had the same experience as me. Also, another website designer friend of mine said their website SCREAMED scam. So Boom. There you have it.

In other news, I have had no luck with any of my recent applications. Not even the radio station in Mauston. I also reapplied for the best buy job the was virtually MADE for me. Fingers crossed.

I have, however, had a lot of creative success lately. Finished 2 songs over the last 3 days. One that I really don't like anymore, and one that I think is pretty freaking good. The crap song is one that I took a while to write, used loop drums and guitars in the initial recording of it. As it went on, I tried to substitute keyboards for the guitars, as I have been having great success with purely keyboarded tunes. It didn't really work, but I started recording vocals anyways. It started coming together a bit when I started using a limited number of keyboards and effects and linking them throughout, but still, it didn't work.

The second song worked so much better. I just sat down at the MIDI keyboard, did a simple chord progression, and kept it really simple. Within 2 hours I had all the parts recorded. Today, I wrote the melody and did some lyrics. Did that real fast too. Then I made a simple guitar solo for the middle, just very unique and easy, but it fit so perfect. It sounds fantastic.

Speed seems to be a factor in the success of my tunes. I'm glad I finished the crappy one and saw it all the way through, but I think I need to be faster. We'll see.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

How now brown cow

Still on the hunt for a good job that is NOT Barnes and Noble...because they blow. I did have a very long application process going on this morning at a radio station half an hour north-ish of Baraboo. It's an advertising/sales position I guess. They haven't really let me know exactly what I'm applying for. I stopped the lady after my second of 4 tests/applications and asked, but she was kind of vague. It does seem, however, that I would be writing copy (ads) for clients, which is something that I'm very interested in doing.

Anything to get away from that awful place of employment, known as Barnes and Noble.

By the way, after two lectures on my poor selling of memberships, I was number one this past week for membership renewals. And I did not change one thing about my "selling technique." Eat shit assholes. Eat shit and die.

BOOM

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Going for it/Lost in Translation=Awesome

Quick update: Barnes and Noble still sucks and I believe my boss hates me. I've never had this difficulty getting along with so many people before.

In other news, I have decided to go for the Onion editorial internship. We'll see if they want me, but at least I tried. If there's one thing I believe, it's that anyone can improve their situation in life, and that is what I am attempting to do.

Had my first promotional event last night at the High Noon Saloon in Madtown. After getting lost on one street, I finally found the place, with some much needed phone guidance. But it was as easy as pumpkin pie. Had two free blue moon's, watched an amazing opening band, and an absolutely terrible headliner. Funny how that stuff works out. Still, really great resume addition with minimum work. Can't complain about that.

Almost made a new song today, but it just didn't jive well. So, I made a mini recording of the idea and will sit on it for a while. That works some times.

After buying the movie "Lost in Translation" a few months ago and watching it once in two sittings, I decided to watch it again. Amazing. I love that type of movie that capture real life situations and raw emotion. Rather than whimsical places and over the top theatrics, it is simple and pure. The characters don't need to say how they feel, but you know. The music is chosen and written in a way that emphasizes the scene. I believe that is what I love about Wes Anderson movies too. The stories may not always been realistic, but the emotions are. Oh yes, and Bill Murray is the man, and he grows a mean beard.

That reminds me, Wes Anderson's new movie comes out soon, the "Fantastic Mr. Fox" I believe. I saw a trailer online and it looks awesome. I am excited. I am very excited.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Bad Timing, but New Things Amidst

So, I have this Onion promotions internship. We had our first meeting/orientation a few days ago and then I found out about another internship with the Onion. An editorial internship which sounds right up my alley. Unfortunately it requires that I be there four days a week and I'm trying to get my hours in at Barnes and Noble. Of course, the hours that I've been scheduled for are usually 11-7, putting the necessary afternoons right smack in the middle of that. Poo poo. Part of me really wants to go for it and add some more debt onto the pile, but the more sane side says that it will probably be open again in another 4 months, and I can save up some money now so I can successfully do the internship later. It's lame, but that's what I've decided. I need to get my financials in order before I take anymore huge risks. It does seem like a great way to work my way into the writing world, but it is in fact bad timing.

In other news, I finally recorded and worked out a song I've been playing around with for about a week. It all came together this morning and I hammered it out. Part of the reason I was so successful at it was because I knew that it has to be today to do it before another week goes by. That's part of the shittyness of this job, but I guess if I'm able to get my creativity out when I need to, it isn't the worst. But anyways, it's another hymn-like progression, spiced up a bit. I avoided using drums because A) I'm tired of fake drums and B) because I wanted to limit myself a little bit more. On my last two songs, I've not used any guitar, bass or drums, which is almost the exact opposite of how I normally work. I consider both songs to be good and some of my finest work.

Almost done with the "Write what you want and sell what you write" book. It has definitely helped, but I thought it would've done more for me. Regardless, not a terrible purchase. Soon I'll start my new Bowie book as well. Excited for that.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Hinderance more than Help

So, Barnes and Noble, not so great. I did, however, get an internship with the Onion. But that hasn't started yet. Anyways, Barnes and Noble is pretty terrible. Instead of being a place where I can do my work and go home, it has become a temple of shittyness. Crappy training and douchey co-workers, on top of a 40 minute drive. Also, the shifts I'm scheduled for are smack in the middle of everything. No time to do anything creatively all the way through. If I start, I cannot finish. When I get home, no energy to do anything. Not what I wanted from a job I don't actually want.

The worst part of it is that I have a great song idea that I would love to hash out. It is starting to bug me. For some reason, I've been gravitating towards "hymn-like" progressions and attempting to make them modern. Kind of weird, but it seems to be working pretty decently.

Also debating whether or not I want to contact this singer/songwriter dude I found on craigslist looking for collaborators. He also has a myspace and sounds pretty legitimate. But, the dude sounds a bit too folky for my taste, Dylan-esque. On the other hand, it could be a creative outlet and an opportunity to play live. He claims to play a few times a week, so I'm thinking about it.

To sum it up, I'm still job hunting. I need a job where I either enjoy it, or can leave it, go home and resume my creativity. Let us hope for more good things to come.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Bowie, You Inspire Me

Well, it appears my creative dry spell that I just talked about in my previous post, is over. The very next day, I wrote and recorded a new tune that I think is some of my finest work. The morning after that, I wrote and recorded another tune, instrumental this time. It isn't the best, but it's still perrrty good. And today, I wrote a skit out that I'll probably record over the next few days. Very productive weekend. Unfortunately, this creativity doesn't seem to come during the week, when I have jack shit to do.

Found out that I may have some recording work to do round these Baraboo parts. The local high school is apparently interested in putting together some sort of studio. Not sure on the specifics yet, but that will be a good opportunity to make some connections. So that's rad.

Been reading a lot of that writing book lately. Has some good information in it. I've already capitalized on some of it, and I'm looking forward to getting some results, seeing as I think I've been doing some things completely wrong in my writing quest. But another good thing about working at Barnes and Noble is that I think I'll probably try and go to the weekly writing group.

Hooray.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Job Search...OVER...sorta

Well, I finally got a decent job offer that did NOT involve my soul being smashed into tiny pieces. Barnes and Noble gave me a job, not full time, but I'll be starting well above minimum wage for a change, which is nice. I'll be a music seller, selling music I believe. Still looking for something that's not demeaning in any way or that I'm ashamed of speaking about. Quite a few people have told me they would LOVE to work there, but I guess I'm not as convinced. Whatever, it's a job.

Creatively, I've been in a complete downturn. Nothing is happening up in the ole noggin. Searching for inspiration in my 6 new Bowie CDs and book on how to "Write what I want, and Sell what I write." My desktop is broken, making all of my previously stockpile of ideas and songs unreachable. I've come close to rerecording some tunes, but I just don't have the motivation right now.

Let us hope for something in the coming days.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Shadow Knows...

But I sure as hell don't. That's why the Shadow is a radio legend, and I am not. Lamont Cranston, good egg (the Shadow's alter ego FYI.) He knew what he had to do, and how to go about doing it. Me on the other hand, have no idea. I know I graduated with a music degree, but I'm not even sure how much I want to do something with it. I love music, and that will never change. However, finding a job in said field is troublesome for us non-education folk. The market is so small. I know I should just put my head down and take it for a few years before I get an actual job I want, but it is very, very hard for me to settle right now. I'm trying to pursue my other skills/interests actively in hopes that something will open up there. But if it comes down to it, I 'll just buckle and get a shitty job, so I can make some damn money so I can stop living paycheck to paycheck. At least then I'd be making money, and have time to focus on what I love outside of work. I guess that wouldn't be all bad. 

Regardless, I've been submitting stories to various competitions in hope of being published, even in the smallest publication. Publishing would give my writing some sort of validation and credibility, rather than just a straight up hobby. Also applied for an internship with Madison Magazine, but I really doubt anything will come of that.

Creatively, I've also been pretty active. Finished a podcast the other day, and am ready to record the voice over material for the next one, but am waiting for the one from last week to get up on the website first. Sent in my radio edit to the Baraboo radio station, along with other promos and the like. Hopefully they throw me a bone.

The plan right now is to move during the week of August 9th, so the job hunt will be easier once I'm actually in the city (I hope.) Things are happening quickly, but nothing in the way I really need it to. Let's hope things shape up soon. For who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men... The Shadow knows.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

In a Brave New World...

...probably one of the best songs on the Iron Maiden CD that I thought would rock a lot harder than it actually did. 

However, being graduated and no longer, as I've been constantly saying, a lowly college student, is quite odd. Also, I don't have a full-time job, which makes this even more awkward. I have something that I haven't had for a long time, full days off. I'm having difficulty getting motivated to do anything. I've been sitting around, watching The Office, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Band of Brothers. No good. 

I have been working on my flawed guitar technique. Unfortunately my old teacher was right, practice makes permanent. I've been playing the way I play for as long as I've learned. It took me forever to learn to play the D chord correctly, after I learned it the wrong way. I have to re-teach myself some of the basics. It is ridiculously hard. To keep learning new things and to learn them right, I've been learning vocal melodies and the like to try my new technique out on. So far it's slow goings, but I know it takes patience, and if I'm going to be teaching students I need to do things right. 

Oh well, so it goes.

Boom goes the dynamite.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Switching on the Lights when they're already on

Have you ever switched on the lights in a room after they're already turned on? I did that twice today, it was weird.

Anyways, it's coming down to the final wire here. For real. Less than two weeks from now, I will be graduated and moved into to my first non-college apartment with my girlfriend. Ch ch ch changes. All good no doubt though. I'm getting nervous about a Physics final...cummulative. Basically if I bomb it, I will not graduate. Ugh. 

But in the realm of projects, I just need to sit down with some organic instruments and be done with the LEGO music. I love what I have so far, but there is only so much one can do with MIDI on a computer without an actual keyboard. Also, almost done with the write-up for the live sound set-up. Once again, just need to sit down at home and draw up some crap on "paint," which Macs apparently do not have.

Speaking of live sound, next sunday I will be recording a very large jazz ensemble, all on my own. I haven't even been thinking of it that much, but I'm pretty calm about it. I do know what I'm doing, it's just keeping a straight head on when problems come up, and I use my troubleshooting skills. Should be no problem with the right preparation, and I feel like I'm prepared. Ipso Facto, no problem.

About done with my creative writing portfolio. Like all other projects, I just need to sit down, print everything, compile it into a folder, and write my letter of evaluation. 

Almost there, then things get funky, but I'm sure I'll still turn on lights that are already on.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Huzzah!

Massive success last nite at the King's Gentlemen gig. Apparently we were very well received. It was so much fun, and like crack. I haven't performed live in over a year, and now that I have, I want more.

Erin won the Green Your World contest, and that was awesome. It was freaking sweet to be a part of.

Making progress on the projects, but not much success on the lego movie front. These last few weeks have been very hectic, so this weekend is kind of my relaxation period. I'm hoping I get some inspiration and a second wind so in the last 2 weeks of my college career I end on a high note, maybe an A (not the grade.)

To the END!!!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Busy Bee

There is an abundance of activity going on round these parts. King's Gentlemen plays fund drive this coming thursday and we are frantically rehearsing to get things ready. If we keep our heads down and push through tonite and tuesday's rehearsal, should be pretty good. Thats the hope anyways. WE SHALL SEE.

Also, I need to get cracking even more on that LEGO music too. I keep waiting to do it whilst I have a guitar in front of me, as that is an easier medium to write in, but I did come up with a bit more the other day. Slow goings after that first bout of awesome.

Got a job with the Exclusive Co. in Janesville. I know it seems like peon job that I could've got in high school, but in the interview, they expressed that they were looking for young, mature people, college grads to move up the ladder to become managerial material and to help expand the company. They also expressed interest in putting in a recording studio in the near future. PLUS, I'll probably be getting a sweet employee discount. TITs.

Onwards!!!!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Keep on keeping on

More things going on. My brother asked me to throw together pieces of a tune that him, his girlfriend and her brother wrote and make it sounds better. So I re-recorded all the parts, sans Erin's vocals, and put in some new parts, and it turned out great. She really liked it apparently and is putting it in her new video for this contest she's winning. Glad I could be a part.

It's been slow goings on the LEGO composition, very little has come out of my efforts since the official start. I'm hesitant to go too rock and roll on it, but it may fit. I need to keep writing, trying different things, even if they're shit. Tomorrow will be a work day for me, try and compose as much as possible. 

Started practicing tuba again this week for my easter gig. Holy cow, haven't played since last 4th of July, and it shows. But I've gained alot back quickly and will be fine for this jesus-loving performance. I have decided to never let it go this long ever again though. It has taken way too much work to get it back. At least bi-yearly, at LEAST.

I got a car this week, so things are headed up in that direction. I now have the ability to transport myself around without being dependent on others. However, the probability of me moving back home after graduation is becoming higher and higher. Trying desperately to find a job still.

Other than that, KG is still on to play fund drive for the radio station, and much attention has been dedicated to that as well. School starts back up monday, and the loss of time is incurred as well. But I'll have the great memories from this last weekend to thrill and drive me. It was fantastic and I couldn't be happier with how it went. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was STILL absolutely fantastic. I will never be sick of going to that place. It is truly a great experience. I thought of applying there, but I'm not sure if I can afford to drive down there and back for an interview for a small position like the ones they're offering. We'll see. But in the mean time, 

keep on keeping on for me.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Mad World

So the job interview was a total dud, but up the way we go, onwards and upwards. First rehearsal for King's Gentlemen since we recorded the EP is tonite, with the addition of a new member. I'm a little nervous seeing as we play the radio station's fund drive in a little over a month from now. Hopefully things aren't that rusty. 

I had an idea today during an extremely unnecessarily long orchestra concert. This movement of a piece was soooo long and it was suggested to me that I try and put together an electronic composition for the student composers concert next month. So, I decided it might be hilarious to have a multi-movement piece with the first movement being of normal length, and the second consisting of either one note, or a simple cadence and then be done. This would be so shocking for the audience, I can't wait. I would love it if I didn't have to write anything out and just make it. I'm envisioning one player and a pre-recorded tape part. What the instrument will be is yet to be determined, I'm leaning towards a clean electric guitar with delay, but we'll see. I love how my entire basis for creating this is to mess with the audience and create the shortest movement of a piece EVER. Hilarious.

It appears that I'll be making another pilgrimage to the sacred Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio this spring break. I'm excited to bask in the awesomeness that is the oh so hallowed hall. I'm assuming some quality inspiration will come out of this. 

Job search still on, found a few advertising agencies in Wisconsin I'll be sending my resume into this week, hoping good things come of it.

All for now.
When in doubt, think of Lincoln.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Clutch had it right

Seems like "everything is gonna be alriiight." Just had a meeting about these 2 extra, practical experience based courses I have to take before the end of the semester to make up for a university credit mistake. Turns out it won't be as hard as I thought. I don't have to take off a bunch of work, but will actually be able to get paid for doing some of it. And it looks like I'll receive credit for doing a project that I didn't have time for before. I get to compose new music for a 3 minute long LEGO video that I found online. How cool is that. Pretty fucking cool. So yeah, I have an interview for friday for an Advertising Sales Executive position (they're legit, I checked, rigorously) and I seem to have everything else in order. And it's about damn time. 

Pretty pumped to keep working on the LEGO project, this will also give me the proper motivation to finish it and make it really great. I should've done more independent studies, haha. Oh well, I've gotten some good mileage out of them so far. 

Hopefully I can land a job soon and start to figure out my future too. It is really hard not knowing so many things. Not to mention graduation is about 2 months away, and it is coming fast baby.  No worries, it'll work out.

kaPLAH!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Long and Short

WELL, I got conned and do not indeed have a job. I made an ass out of myself and am quite humiliated by the entire process.  In essence, the job search is on again, and my free time has quickly fled. Eicheewow.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Boom shakalaka

So I got a job. Nearly no one seems as thrilled as I am. I mean come on, to have a salary, albeit weekly, based job immediately after college? How awesome do I have to be? And no, it's not really what I want to do with my life, but neither is working as a custodian, but I did that too. This has opportunities for advancement, great pay, and it has healthcare, HEALTH CARE! So at the very least, and this is as pessimistic as I'll go at this point, it will build me resume with great sales experience, and I'll have had a salary based job, and I will have made some good money. These are the worst things that could come out of this, and that's if I hate the job. 

Who knows, I could love it, be really good at it and make shit tons of money. Seriously people (family in particular) let me make my own mistakes, if it is indeed one. 

I suppose I should describe the job a little, seeing as I am griping about people hating it. So what I will do is go to businesses who already have AT&T and try to save them money/upgrade their system, add lines, and all that mumbo jumbo. So no, I'm not selling anything, these people already have AT&T and saving them money doesn't even include extra money for me. Commission is based on what they change about their current plan. But I can still save them money and not make jack shit. SO, I travel to cities and save current customers money. Not so bad. One might even call it, doing a good deed. Good karma is coming my way my friends. 

So no, I didn't go to school for this, but yes, I am good with people and enjoy helping them. I also happen to enjoy making good money, as opposed to bad money. 

Like I said, if I hate it that much, I am not one to sit idly and take it. I will quit if I'm that unhappy and find a new job. But seriously, to have a job waiting for me right out of college is awesome, and to have it not be fast food or cheap labor or anything like that is also awesome. This is a legitimate "big boy" job.

And it is not like I'm going to stop writing and recording, seriously, that's what I do, why would I stop. 

No matter how many ways you slice it, I made a good choice, and unless someone offers me a better job (which no one has, at all) I'll be working for 3DK consulting in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin as of late May.

Good for me.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Well well well

OK, so for the last few weeks I've been feverishly looking and applying for jobs. Today I had an interview and I guess I nailed it because I got called back for an entire day on friday. Looks like that work is finally paying off. The job has nothing to do with music or any of that, but it does involve advertising and marketing. 

So that means I haven't had much time for projects and the like. I guess I'm close to not graduating (which I'm hopefully going to clear up in an hour or so) and apparently have to do audio practicum again. It's basically a individual course where you get practical experience in....you guessed it, audio. I'm trying to finagle it so that I can use this to make promos for music events instead of the same old set-up/tear-down. And maybe make a guide to do this usual stuff. I really hope that works, that way I will have no choice but to work on the projects.

I did create a spy-brian setzer-esque little theme song that I thought would work well for opening credits of a show like "Getting away with murder" on IFC.com. But that is basically all I've done. Here's to hoping for more time....and a job.

TADAA!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Good creative weekend

Well, I didn't have any real homework to do and I was kind of locked away, but it was of my own free will and it really drove me to do some projects. Truthfully it was mostly because I knew that I won't have much time this week to do anything. So, what I did this weekend:

First, I rewrote some promos for the radio station that sucked something fierce. I recorded one of them and it sounds really good. I need to find someone who can do a really good hulk hogan impression to do the other one...may have to change it to the Kool-Aid man...but that might be copyrighted. Regardless, I thought I did a really good job with that. I also recorded and finished my Bible Books, Books about the Bible, that was pretty good too, really love the music I wrote for it more than anything. Finished up the Delinquents with Combs sketch too, also turned out nicely.  Finished writing another commercial and recorded the music for it, but still need to record the voices. 

In my state of extreme free time, I decided to start a series. It's called The Adventures of Marvin the Macbook and his friend Nate. Each episode is about a minute and is seen from the macbook camera. I wrote some pretty sweet music for it too. Kind of dumb, but kind of funny too. I still need to figure out how to export the movie with the music out of Logic so I can post them on YouTube. 

I also started filling out some job applications for some jobs in Madison, library and park services. At this point I just want to have some source of income when May roles around. It seems that the Madison area might be best for multiple reasons, so I'm working on the regular job search there for now.

All in all, a very productive weekend, and I'm guessing that's when most things will get done. But I'm ok with that, just as long as shit keeps getting done.

-Growing anxious, but still very excited

Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Glassman

Well, I guess this is becoming a bi-weekly thing, but then again, there's a lot going on. Most recently, I've rekindled my love of Philip Glass. I started listening to his 2007 album, Monsters of Grace. When I took advanced music composition last year I tried writing something like this, but failed miserably. I think there is such a fine line between what he does and pop writing...I guess I was too pop oriented. Anyways, that has definitely been my music of choice as of late. Curious to see if this affects any of my writing/projects. We'll see.

As per projects, I'm starting to feel some time crunch as I focus on my last semester of classes and work. Nevertheless, I've not so much changed, but adjusted some of my focus to Jingle writing. I recently wrote and recorded the Comanche Cucumber commercial and ended up writing an arguably hilarious and catchy jingle. Seeing as I'd written jingles/theme songs for all of my radio shows, I thought I'd keep it up, see what would happen. Yesterday I thought of two more jingles, one for a real product and another fake one. I've done some research and am looking to do a lot more. I've contacted the station manager of WSUW on campus to see if any specialty shows want jingle and things like that. I'm pretty pumped to keep this up.

Progress is also being made on the writing for the LEGO movie, had some more ideas for the opening and it's turning out pretty good. Found out how to get the movie into Logic so I can compose along while watching it for cues and the like. Logic is definitely different than any other DAW I've used, but I know need to familiarize myself with it. 

Still need to record a lot of voice work for a few projects, but I'll have time saturday to do it, so I should be able to meet my goal of getting the Delinquents with Combs sketch completely record, and all the commercials as well.

I've been feeling the pressure of finding a job, especially with may graduation looming. Sometimes I wish I was better at something that wasn't so selective and such a small market. Nevertheless, I'm going to keep on with what I'm doing. I've sent out some e-mails to various contacts and hope to gain more contacts from them at the very least. Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the hardest part.

Yet...still excited.




Sunday, January 25, 2009

I want to make a supersonic man out of you...don't stop me now

So things have kept up with my expectations so far. I've been waiting for my next spoken word album from my brother so I can keep that going, but I know he's busy with other projects of his own, however, I'm really anxious to keep doing those, it was a lot of fun. 

I found an interesting video on archive.org that I'm planning on putting music to. I downloaded and have started brainstorming ideas for music...and possibly fx, not sure if I want to do that, but I most likely will. It's a 3 minute LEGO movie, I guess people call them brick films these days, stop motion legos. I put music to another brick film for MIDI techniques 2 years ago and that worked out really well. I plan on getting most of the different themes and the bulk of the prep work done by this time next week.

I also had the idea to make a short skit, possibly for the podcast, based on the package of a comb that looks and works like a switchblade. The package uses lines like "they were out for kicks" and "you can have the dame, just gimme back my comb!"  There are at least 5 of these on there, along with a title of "Delinquents with Combs." It practically writes itself. And it basically did. I wrote the skit in about an hour in the style of an old radio serial like the Shadow. It should be pretty funny when I record the voices. I came up with some organ music for the opening and closing narrations tonight and recorded a scratch narration to see if it would fit. It works great and I can't wait to get home tonite and start recording the rest. Hopefully I can manipulate my voice enough where it doesn't totally sound like I'm doing all of the voices, but then again, that could be hilarious. 

I also want to finish my mock commercial for "Comanche's Cucumbers" done this week. It's a short one, should only be about 30 seconds. But just like the radio skit, I just need to record the voices at home or at work and I can do the rest from this snazzy macbook. 

I'm taking a creative writing class and this is also helping with the creative flow. Despite the teacher being rather hippie-like and loving everything anyone says, it is still proving to help me find my "voice" in that realm as well. 

I'm getting my band, The King's Gentlemen, back together after a short hiatus due to my busyness with the recording of the demo last semester. I've added another guitarist and need to get some of the tunes ready again. Now that there is for sure another guitar, I can be a little more liberal with the arrangements I create for the rest of the band to listen to before we practice. This opens a lot of doors and I'm looking forward to working with him and making us sound, as we say...tits. 

In essence, a lot of shit is going on, and I know I'm trying to do quite a bit at once, but I'm just afraid my free time will dry up really fast, so I want to do as much as possible now. Here's to hoping this week is as productive as I want it to be.

Still excited.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Blog the first

This is my first blog under the advice of a certain book. This is supposed to increase my creativity and also make me more aware of what's going on. I plan on doing this once a week, reflecting on projects and issues I come across with in some of the work I've been doing. 

So far, this semester seems like I'll be able to get a lot more creative projects done. I also have a drive to do them that I haven't had for a while. I just finished both of my brothers newest mock spoken word poetry albums. I made some jazz bass lines and percussion to accompany his voice. It turned out pretty good as I familiarized myself more intimately with Garageband and it's capabilities. Want to clean it up in DP at some point, quantize the hell out of it.

In the process of writing and producing my second big podcast, taking a lot more time than I'd hoped, but I'm convinced I'll be done soon.

I also want to start writing for film, more series/cartoons I think, but it greatly appeals to me. I plan on going to archive.org and finding some videos and putting music to them in hope this will help me practice my writing for this medium. I think I could greatly excel at it, as I've enjoyed it in the past.  First and foremost, I need to get the video files from my bro that we created this winter so I can edit and compose for that short film. Should be awesome.

Excited.